


Goro in Wonderland

by Notcreativewithnames



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, Persona Series
Genre: Akira is a innocent but chaotic bean, Alice!Goro, Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland Fusion, Banter, Blood, Can banter lead to flirting? Suuure I say, CheshireCat!Akira, Don't eat like Goro does in the third chapter kids, F/M, Goro Crossdresses, Goro find himself a damsel in distress sometimes and he hates it, Goro has crush denial, Humanized Bugs?, I don't even know where this is gonna go so readers look out, I'll leave the rest the crewe a surprise, M/M, Magic Based Smoking, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor to Mild Gore?, Murder, Persona 5 Spoilers, Protective Akira, Rating May Change, Speaking of: Characters outside of P5 will show up, Swearing, Symbolism~!, Temporary Shrinking and Growing, both of them are gay disasters, kinda slow burn, lil angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:20:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22229287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notcreativewithnames/pseuds/Notcreativewithnames
Summary: He had finally gone completely nuts, he had to be! Not only is Goro stuck in such a strange world, he's following a bizarre looking doppelganger of Akira that doesn't even know his own name but...he may just have a chance to make it home if he just goes along with all this nonsense and find...whoever this king is.Or: The Alice in Wonderland au with some complementary Akeshu that nobody asked for or made…as far as I know.6/11/20 Update: I went back and fixed up some errors in chapters 1-4 because I'm sure it's bothering some readers. Also, I changed the format to fit my current writing style just a bit more. As for the story, it hasn't changed at all. Just slightly more expanded upon in certain parts so it won't make too big a difference whether you decide reread them or not!
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Isshiki Wakaba/Sakura Sojiro, implied Wakaba/Sakura though and it's one-sided
Comments: 25
Kudos: 65





	1. Lose Something?

**Author's Note:**

> In case you guys need to know, this takes place some time before Okumura's palace and Goro talks with Akira a lot more in this than in the game so they actually know each other well before Goro joins the Phantom thieves. Plus the way this story goes will be based off more than one of the adaptations while also being it's own thing. Mainly cause I'll likely mess around with the order of events that happen really but...yeah. Hope you enjoy the first chapter!

The rain beats down on every inch of Leblanc, the strong wind carrying the heavy rain. The roof and windows had become mother nature's drum. Nothing but constant thumping of the waterfall that was coming down.

Sojiro sighs in annoyance and grumbles prayers of Futaba holding up well at the house. Something that reassured Akira though is that she most likely would be distracted by her work so as long as there was no thunder and/or a blackout, she would be fine. Sojiro called her anyways to let her know because there was no way he was going to make even a small trip back to the house without getting himself very sick in the almost hurricane out there. They were going to have to sit it out.

It was good luck that all of the customers had gotten out before the hellish storm started and hopefully they all made a safe way home. Or well, except none other than Goro Akechi, who had a habit of staying in the place longer than anyone. The detective's princely persona even dropped a little as the storm grew. He wasn't going anywhere and he knew it. If Sojiro couldn't even get to his house, Akira could only grimace imagining the harsh fever Akechi could catch if he dared trying to walk to the train station.

"I thought it would clear up…" Goro grumbles, almost borderline whining before letting out a frustrated sigh. "Now I'm stuck…"

"Yeah, I thought it would clear up too. Weather reporters said it would only be a small rain shower." Akira says which startled the detective out of his head. He quickly sits straight and puts up his prim and proper detective persona on again. 

"Ah...A-Apologies, Kurusu. Forgot you were here for a moment." He says, somehow managing a smile despite the sour mood he had shown before. 

"Hey, no harm done. It's not like you caused a ruckus or anything." Akira assured him. Not that the brunette ever caused any disruptions so it was a bit ridiculous for him to think that. Goro simply gives a curt nod and Akira nods back. It takes an awkward silence before Akira figured out what to say again.

"Did you..have somewhere important to be?" He asked. Goro glances at Akira, only a little surprised. It was rare that Akira started their talks. Goro always approached him to converse first while Akira is always giving one sentence or word answers. With the occasional long responses. 

"...Yes, actually...kinda why I'm not quite acting like myself honestly." Goro hesitantly says with a light and strangled laugh. More exhale than cackling.

"Why's that?" Akira asks innocently but that only makes Goro uncomfortable as his whole body stiffened. He answers him nonetheless though.

"Um...just worried my boss won't take my absence well, I suppose. It was a really important meeting." The brunette reasons. 'Important meeting' meaning Shido giving him another target. It was all part of his plan but honestly, it did get to Goro sometimes. Even got physically exhausted. 

"Well, I'm sure he'll understand when you explain what happened. They can't expect you to attend at all if you got sick running in all that rain." Akira offers helpfully. 

Goro pretends to contemplate this then gives Akira the best, most convincing smile he could. "I do hope you're right."

He was absolutely certain that he'd get spammed with messages from Shido though but he didn't feel like explaining the situation right now so he takes his phone out and turns off to avoid it. For now at least.

"Mhm...Anyways, you're welcome to stay here. I'm sure I have spare blankets you could use to sleep through the storm if you need to." Akira says with a smile. Goro fumbles putting his device away before he responds to the offer. 

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose on you." He asks, some guilt in his tone. 

"Nah, really, it's fine. Don't worry about it." Akira says already rushing up to the top floor. 

"Jeez...he didn't hesitate at all…He's so desperate." Goro swears hears a voice say though he didn't see anybody but Sojiro in the cafe so he simply shrugs it off as another sleep deprived mirage.

"You planning on sleeping here? There's a couch upstairs you could use instead. I'm sure you could even kick him out of his futon if you asked. He wouldn't be troubled by it at all." Sojiro tells Goro, pointing to the ceiling.

"Oh no, I'm sure I'll be able to get comfortable enough down here. Besides, you should take the couch if anyone here should. Wouldn't want you hurting your back trying to stay even half an hour here." Goro insists with his instinctual, signature, T.V. polite smile.

"Well...If you say so." Sojiro concedes with a shrug. Akira finally comes down after a bit and gives Goro the sheets to make his makeshift bed in one of the cafe seats. 

-

Goro wakes in the middle of his slumber when he hears a crash.

"What on earth…" he mumbles tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he untangles from his sheets and goes to investigate. He listens to see if the sound would repeat itself but he's only met with silence. He thinks for a moment, looking around before he decides the best choice would be to check behind the counter. Despite everything he's done for the last two years, Goro still finds himself hesitating when he makes his way there. 

All he finds though is one broken jar of coffee beans, spilled on the floor.

' _Must've been the cat…though I'm certain Kurusu said the boss didn't let the thing stay down here long. Much less behind the counter._ ' he thinks.

"Well, that'll be a conflict for him to take care of." He whispers to himself, starting to walk back to his bundle but he stops, looks at the broken glass in consideration, and kneels down to the mess.

"Guess I owe him this at least for crashing here…" he mumbles tiredly as he gets to work on hiding the crime scene.

First he pulls out the jar behind where the broken one was out. Sakura shouldn't notice the one that is missing that way. Second, he grabs some paper towel to pick the bean and glass shard mix up. He had his leather gloves on to protect him from the glass but well...it was gritted coffee beans. He didn't want it to dirty his gloves if he could help it, thank you very much. The third step was tricky though because he noticed that the trash can was missing. He knew there had to be one. He's seen both the boss and Akira toss dirty rags from behind here, it couldn't have just disappeared into nowhere. That's when he notices some kind of crank in the counter.

' _That must be a garbage chute._ ' He thinks, maneuvering the bean and glass paper wrap into his left hand before cranking it with his right without a second thought. Which he ends up regretting because the minute he did, he finds himself falling and screaming down. He only has several seconds to see the little square that had opened up through the floor (no doubt the cause of his fall) before it closes up again and leaves him in darkness, unable to see where he's falling. The shock made him let go of the bag so he couldn't tell where that was anymore either. He just hoped he didn't land on it. Assuming he would survive when and where he landed.

It feels like forever passes before he finally does with a harsh thump.

-

When Goro finally woke up, he was sore all over. It took him a moment to shake off the disorientation from the landing to take in his surroundings and the first thing he notices is the ground under his palms was a pink magenta and…

"Where's my sleeves…?" He mumbles curiously and that wasn't the only thing that was strange, his gloves seemed to be pure white instead of his black ones he often wore for detective work. He hurriedly forces himself up to see what this was about, only to be horrified by new clothing that wasn't anything like the outfit he sometimes wore in the Metaverse.

A white apron with frills at the very bottom was wrapped firmly around his front, kept together by the bow in the back over his waist. Underneath it was a blue dress embroidered with black and red (Spades, diamonds, clubs, and hearts..?) on the hem. Which he didn't realize was one until it gave a twirl in tune with him. Reason being that it was inconveniently on the short side, it came up just a little above his knees. He wasn't sure if the white stockings and black flats that helped to cover his legs and feet saved him or just dug him deeper in the pit of embarrassment he was in. The sleeves were short too, puff sleeves that didn't even reach his elbows. Rather, it fit snugly by the black bands around the armscye. The cherry on the top of this horrid mess was the black bow on the white collar of the dress.

"What the hell…?" Goro growls, glaring down at the petite gown he was holding onto in curtsy as if it would spontaneously set on fire if he stared it down enough. To his despair though, that obviously wasn't gonna happen. So he simply huffs, shoved the cloth back down his lap, and looks around.

There was a woodland forest. Like the path, it was made up of reddish colors. The grass, some shade between fuchsia and maroon. Bark of the trees, a dark rosewood. The leaves on them ranging from all shades of purple and pink lighter. As with the several bushes that managed to grow in. Despite the bright colors everywhere, however, the forest was heavily shaded. He couldn't catch one speck of the sky through the thick trees. The magenta path that greeted him when he woke up went in several directions with no clear show to where they went. Goro clicks his tongue.

"Well..there's gotta be signs or a town map or...something to help me…" he mumbles as he starts walking down the path to look at the trees. If there weren't any street name poles, than surely he would find the signs on the trees to help him navigate through here. Atleast.

_Crackle._

Goro whips his head to what sounded like leaves being crushed under somebody's feet but he only saw a bush there, rustling before stilling again.

"....." Goro really shouldn't wander too much, he doesn't know what's in these woods...or how dangerous...but he goes anyway out of curiosity, pushing the leaves of the bush apart.

...nothing, thankfully. But there wasn't any wind blowing so what on earth made that-

"Looking for something?"

"Gah-!" Frightened, Goro jumps away from the bush, scanning every corner for the deep and borderline taunting voice. But there was nobody to be seen!

"Up here, bow~!" Goro looks to the trees and at first, he still sees nothing. Then...slowly, from a tree growing above the same bush, he sees ribbon appear out of thin air before solidifying as feet and leg limbs. Then a tail, then torso, then arms, and finally a head with a familiar, mischievous grin that never failed to make his blood boil...but only just a little.

Not only did he have the same smirk. Oh no. He was almost a complete replica of the raven boy he'd grown familiar with in the past months. Same stupid black frizz-hair and coal colored eyes but with an absence of the black frames that usually accessorized them.

What really threw Goro off however was the black ears on the top of his head and they didn't look like they were on a headband or anything...they even twitched. The matching black tail he had also had the same, realistic movement. Furthermore, the pale skin had a little semblance of dark grey fur in his cheeks and down his neck. The left hand that his chin was currently resting in while the elbow rested in his lap had claw-like nails. Same with the right one resting directly on his lap. He wore a black coat with a collar that rose to his chin. Though the cloth in the front only went down to the bottom of his ribs, there were long coat tails in the back and the sleeve's cuffs reached just below his wrist. Underneath the golden chain that kept the jacket together (just barely), a dark grey corset tied by black thread. Then just below that, a white shirt with the collar popped out. The pants were waxed black denim, however it was a little torn in some parts, no doubt from constant thicket climbing. Final touch, almost knee high, black boots that had way too many buckles and had claw-like protrusions where the toe-pockets went. How he managed to climb in those was beyond Goro's understanding.

"Akira…?" He addresses the stranger, bewildered and immediately regrets it. This obviously wasn't Kusuru...and for whatever reason, he addressed him by his first name. The strange character's eyes widen and tilts their head in confusion, ears drooping to the side with it. He didn't lose the smile however and now that Goro looked closely; despite his grin being very similar to Akira's, his smile was showing teeth more pointy than ones of any average human. (Not creepy at all...)

"Akira...who's that?" The cat-boy asks. Goro blinks to help himself focus better and snap out of his flabbergasted state.

"U-Umm..s-sorry...you...you just remind me of someone else." He quickly explains through a stutter. Goro almost wanted to run after embarrassing himself but in the end, it would only bring more attention to himself and make it worse. The raven's ears perk at that, Goro's remark seeming to get his curiosity.

"Is that so? You sure you haven't met me before then?" He asks.

...what kind of question is that…?

"Yes, I'm very sure...you may look a lot like him but you certainly aren't him." The black-clad boy tilts again, this time his whole body, in wonderment.

"That so…" he mumbles, sounding lost in thought.

"It is." Goro replies back. Akira's look alike didn't respond after that. Bringing an uncomfortable silence. 

"Well...I'd best be going-" Goro says, starting to take his leave but jolts when the cat boy hops down from the tree, landing right in front of the brunette.

"Would you mind telling me who you are, at least?"

Atleast? It's not like he owed him the introduction. 

"G-Goro...Goro Akechi." He finds himself answering despite it.

"Goro Akechi…Goro Akechi..." The raven says, seeming to test out saying it.

"...I'll just call you Goro." He decides after a bit.

"Aah-D-Don't!" Goro's face flushes as he stutters this.

"Why not?" The boy asks, genuinely confused which makes Goro redder.

"W-Well...where I come from, you only call someone by first name if you're familiar with them…"

"Ohhhh...Is that so?" The boy considers.

"It is…" Goro grits, cursing his face to cool down already.

".....You're the most familiar face to me in this whole wood though." The cat boy points out, like it was a strong arguement.

This guy had to be just messing with him!

"That's not-!" Goro just groans before finishing his sentence, frustrated with this guy. 

"Not what?" The boy asks him patiently. Goro takes a breath before answering. It was apparent that he wasn't trying to make Goro flustered after all. Not intentionally. There's no need to be mad.

"That's not how it works...It has to be mutual and I don't even know your name."

As soon as those words pass his lips, Goro sees the boy's cat ears droop solemnly. ".....Oh…."

"Why does that make you sad?" Goro asks, confused, certainly not for the first time today by the sudden melancholy mood.

"I don't even know my name so I don't know how I'd be able to fix that."

"...Huh?"

"Someone, who I'm not sure the name of either, stole my name and since then, that's been the only thing I remember." The cat boy turns to look at the trees. "Or well...other than all my time spent here."

...things just get more and more strange today, don't they?

' _I've lost it, haven't I? I've fallen into the pits of insanity, never to get out again. I've become an utter nutcase._ ' Goro thinks.

His frantic thoughts are interrupted by the raven saying, sympathetically although sadly: "I can't figure it out either so don't feel bad if you can't."

Goro just sighs, feeling really burnt out by this confusing exchange. "...look, I'm really really sorry that happened but I've got to get home-"

"Gah, I'm so late!"

Both their heads turn to the soft but shrill voice.

In the direction of the voice, they find a white ear and short, matching haired bunny girl. In terms of her clothing, it wasn't anything too over the top like the cat and Goro's get-ups. Her ears had red bows, matching her albino red eyes. She wore a plain white dress shirt which she wore with a bow on the collar like Goro and had a vest over it. It was black and red (red most prominent on it though) pinstripe design that was buttoned by big black buttons. Her skirt was black with a belt, accessorized by a silver pocket-watch. Then simple long red socks and black mary-janes. In her hands, she held some paper that he couldn't read but if Goro had to guess, it was a scroll of some kind. She's in clear panic as she looks around but her eyes brighten some when she sees them.

"Y-You two there!" She calls softly as she makes her way over quickly then asks. "D-Do..Do either of you know where I am...?"

Goro just stands there dumbfounded but the Akira doppelganger answers her.

"Wanderers Woods, little bun."

He barely has any time to cover his ears before the bunny girl lets out a high pitched scream.

"T-Too far!! The King will have my head for this!"

King…?

"T-Thanks!" She says before dashing down the path.

"Hey, wait-!" Goro shouts, starting to run himself when the girl didn't show any signs of stopping for him. No matter how fast he ran however, he was barely catching up with her. Chasing after an actual rabbit was a hard task in the first place so he probably should've expected it to be as hard. He manages to stay close for some time before his body is too worn to keep going, having to stop and catch his breath.

"Hah...hah….damn it…" Goro pants, his hands on his knees. If there was a rock in these woods to sit on in defeat, he would've sat on it.

"Did you know her?" He hears from behind him.

And the feline bastard followed him too. Great.

"No…" Goro groans before forcing himself to stand straight.

"But...I thought maybe she could've helped me get home. I don't know where I'm going and I was hoping I could at least have a guide in this but it doesn't seem like that'll happen!" He rants, throwing up his arm and dropping it again in frustration. Then he crosses both of them.

"Why me…" he whines helplessly. There's a pregnant pause before it's broken.

"I could help." Goro turns to look at the feline doppleganger.

"While I may not know where you're home is and I haven't really left this forest ever, I'm sure I can at least help you around till we figure out how to get there...it'd be better than wandering on your own, don't you think?" The raven suggests with an optimistic grin.

' _He really is just like Kurusu…_ ' Goro thinks with a shake of his head.

"...Alright, fine." he answers.

"Really?" The other boy cheers happily, his tail and ears standing straight.

"Yeah, why not. Like you said, it's better to have you around then wandering aimlessly." The doppelganger grins even more at that, the brightest smile so far. Goro feels his cheeks grow a bit warm seeing it before clearing his throat.

"Uh...One thing before we go though...what should I call you? I know you said you don't remember your name but I do think you need one when I need to address you." He asks him. The cat-boy's ears flick as he thinks, looking to the sky they couldn't see before he turns back to Goro again.

"What if you named me after your friend...you did say I look a lot like him after all." He suggests.

Friend...he's not sure if he would use that word to describe Akira but...well that's not important. What's important is that it works.

"Akira? Fine by me. Let's get going then." Goro says as he starts walking down the path, the cat-boy following after him.

"....Say, didn't you say that first names are for familiar people?" Goro's face flushes once more.

"Well...I know you in a way now, don't I?" He excuses, though he knows himself it's still not that simple.

"Ah, I suppose you're right." He says with a grin, thankfully taking it.

Hopefully this journey won't be long, Goro doesn't know how long he will be able to handle this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, it took me forever to think of wonderland Akira's clothes. I based it off a mix of Aresene and Akira's palace clothes. Whether or not, it's fashionable or not is debatable but I think I did a good job on it. Despite Goro questioning it himself


	2. Pigs (Have Wings?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter is here! Honestly though, this is the most motivated I’ve felt writing on here yet and I have fun writing these dorks banter and bumble along their journey xD Also thank you guys who gave me the positive feedback and kudos on the first chapter, it only doubles my motivation to keep writing this and I greatly appreciate it! That being said, I hope you guys continue to enjoy this story as it develops~!

“I have a question for you, Akira." Goro says (still admittedly not quite used to calling the cat boy by it yet) as he steps steadily on the rocks of the blue stone river pathway he and Akira came across. The only way to keep going it seemed for the moment, unfortunately. The river's flow was gentle but it didn't do much to provide the boys a calm walk on the rocks, not to mention was even harder to cross in something formal like flats which had a chance of making Goro slip. 

"Hmm? And what would it be?" Akira asks as he follows after, stepping on each stone with ease despite his own ridiculous footwear. Must be a cat's balance...it still didn't explain how he manages to climb trees in them though if that’s it. The boots' build alone proved them to be more oriented for style than physical activity. 

"Why did you stay in the woods for so long? You could have left after all this time, right?" Goro asks, curiously. Just staying in the big forest had to be, at the very least, deathly boring for him so you'd think he'd try to make his way out eventually. Though frankly, Goro was kinda glad to have come across him before that happened. 

Goro hears Akira hum in thought for a moment before answering him. 

"Well...you're supposed to stay in a safe place when you're lost till you're found right?" He questions back. 

"To my knowledge, yes, that sounds about right...some of the time at least." He answers.

Staying where you were as long as people would know where to find you was a decent option when you're lost though usually when he’d got lost anywhere as a child, Goro would go straight to the person in charge or an employee; not stay where he was. But he does wish he could've had the 'wait to be found' option once in awhile. Although it’s not an uncommon routine for lost kids to go to workers to call their guardians to pick them up...being thrown around so much in the foster care system made him feel like they’d very well leave without him if he didn’t. Sometimes, he wondered if they've tried to lose him on purpose. It didn't make sense considering they'd get in big trouble for it...but again, it didn't stop some from using the money they were given to take care of him for themselves. 

He hears some swift movement before he sees Akira hop right next to him, smiling still and his tail swishing side to side. 

"And nobody at all has found me till you...soooo I couldn't go anywhere! At least not too far." He explains, like it was the most simple answer. It's not that easy though. In the real world, just walking with any stranger was dangerous. Who knows how dangerous it was here...thinking about that, it was a good thing for Akira too that he and Goro found each other. With those claws, he maybe could’ve put up a fight but that only would be useful if Akira wasn’t so…

“Aaaaah!!!!” 

_Splash!_

Goro is startled for a moment but sighs the minute he sees Akira. The dummy slipped. Nothing more. Funny, considering Goro was thinking on how anybody could slip in Akira’s boots so really, he should’ve expected it. He had to hold back some laughter still though. The cat boy looked absolutely horrified of the water, hurrying as fast as he could to get back on the rocks. Didn’t help Akira’s image that the water was only above ankle deep. After getting himself together and standing straight on the rocks again, Akira slowly turns his head to Goro. His hair and tail comically soaked as he sheepishly laughs.

"S-Some of these stones are wet...look out.” 

“I see..Thanks for the warning.” 

“No problem!” And with that, Akira continues to skip across the rocks again. All the while, muttering to himself. “Cold..it’s..so cold…” 

Goro follows after, shaking his head. Several stones later, they finally make their way across the stone path. Much to Akira’s relief. 

The raven’s whole body gives a shiver and a shake, water flying off and leaving his hair frizzier than usual.

“I hope..I don’t have to do that for a long time..or ever again.” Akira mumbles, an aggravated pout on his face. 

“Yeah, I’ll even admit, that was a little dreadful.” Goro says, wiping his flats on dry ground incase they got even a little wet. 

After that, they continue walking down the magenta path. When they would come up to more than one path, Akira’s ears would perk up to see which one made the most noise. You see, before they started traveling, Goro proposed that if they were going to find help that listening for voices would be the best bet. More voices should mean more people, a civilization. Like how light in the stormy sea leads lost boats and ships to the lighthouse. And to their luck, Akira had his adept cat ears to help. They had no problem picking up any noise and marking their path for them.

It was brought to a halt however as Akira stops third of the way through a path, becoming unusually alert. Goro wouldn’t have noticed if it weren’t for him being used to the raven staying right next to him the whole time they were walking. Still a few steps ahead, he kept trying to motion Akira to keep moving but after realizing the boy wouldn’t move, Goro gives up and walks back over to him. 

“What’s going on, Akira?” He asks. 

“I just...I smell something...musty.” Akira answers, confounded. 

“...musty?” Goro questions, raising his eyebrow. Akira nods. 

“Not only that, it smells burnt, meaty, and…” He sniffs the air once more. “...really really foul.” 

Akira could have might as well said he smelled the stench of death. Nothing about that description sounded good. It practically screamed danger. But they’ve already gotten so far and for all they knew, it was the only way to reach help. 

“Should we go back…?” Akira asks, doing the curious head and ear tilt at Goro once again. 

“I don’t know...I don’t want to figure out what is making that scent you smell but...if there's a town or something..” Goro mumbles, feeling conflicted. 

“That is a conundrum…” Akira says, his tail swishing as he thought. Very quickly though, he perks up again. “Well..I think if we just watch each other's backs, we’ll stay out of danger.” 

“Watch each other's backs?” Goro questions. It wasn’t a bad suggestion really but he wanted to hear a plan to go with this suggestion first. Thankfully, Akira gives one. 

“Yeah, I’ll stay behind you while you keep a look out as we approach. That way, you’ll be able to tell what’s going on and I’ll keep you safe from any attackers.” Akira says with a proud grin. 

“...alright, solid..but what if by small chance, I get attacked from the front?” Goro says, motioning to his outfit. "I’m not exactly in battle armor. Not even a sword."

Akira’s brows furrow, considering it for a moment before the light bulb in his head finally clicks. He then suddenly turns and hops into the trees without a word. 

‘ _What is he doing..?_ ’ Goro thinks, looking up to see what he's doing.

The tree creaks as he watches Akira crawl across a large branch toward a thinner branch that grew out of it. Squatting there, Akira rubs his hands together before grabbing that branch and twisting it side to side. The branch wasn't tough enough to put up much of a fight against the motion as it cracks in only a few twists but Akira seems to have difficulty actually getting it off. He even tries pulling it hastily out of frustration, letting out a guttural and angry wail that scares a couple birds out of the trees. 

"Shhh!! Be quiet!" Goro hushes. This plan wouldn't work if Akira let them get discovered before they even stepped foot into possible battle. 

"Sorry, it's just...super...stuck..." Akira whispers back, still helplessly pushing and pulling at the branch as he talked.

He doesn't stop struggling for a good while and just when Goro is ready to just call him back down, Akira seems to get an idea. He grips onto the branch tighter, scooting his squatted self to the edge then just dropping his body so he was hanging as he held onto the brutalized branch. It made Goro bite his lip just watching it. Akira doesn't seem to have any care whatsoever though as he starts using the branch as a swing, his body moving itself front and back. Goro uneasily steps back as Akira continues his extreme acrobatics exercise. 

' _This man is gonna get himself killed._ ' 

Soon enough, Akira is spinning in a fast circle and Goro only gets more and more queasy. 

' _That man is gonna hit the tree or something if he keeps doing this_.'

It was too late for him to say anything though as the branch finally came free. Instead of either of his worries happening however, Akira only goes flying up, still spinning in a circle before he lands before Goro. Then he stands, without even a pulled muscle, pulling off one stray twig on the branch and presents it to him with a smile. While not as sturdy, the branch’s point seemed sharp enough to be just as lethal as a sword. 

"Your sword, my good sir~"

Goro wanted to shout every obscenity in existence, looking at Akira in stunned surprise but he chooses to just breathe out his panic and take the damn stick. "Thanks." He breathes. 

' _This man is gonna give me a heart attack._ ' 

Nothing else to do but proceed, they start making their way down the path again. Akira proceeds to stay vigilant, ears up and constantly sniffing the air. Same with Goro, who at the moment only had the branch in hand to fight with. 

As they come up, they start seeing a clearing. In the middle of it, a cottage house with a stone well to greet them. The white brick the short building was built out of was barely visible, overgrowth all over. The ground had some growth too but it had a few patches of dirt. The door was made of dark walnut wood. The windows were framed with it as well but it was even darker inside. Not even a shed of light. The roof was sloppy compared to the rest of it, jagged wood shingles that stuck outward in some places. In the back of it on the left, a brick chimney rose tall, letting out a thick, dark green smoke.

Akira gives the air a quick sniff. "...Goro, that's where the smell is coming from." He whispers, pointing to the chimney. 

' _What on earth is going on in there?_ ' He thinks. 

Goro gave the surroundings of the house a brisk look around. Everywhere else in the area was just more woods that only would lead back into the forest. It looked particularly dark in some of them too. They’d definitely get lost in there so there's no other pathway to go anywhere but behind the cottage. The brunette gulps. 

"Let's walk past them...just stick to our plan and be as silent as possible." Goro instructs Akira, the raven giving him an affirming nod. 

Slowly they start to move up, careful not to make any noises. Both of them were so tense, they barely even inhaled through their noses. It took what felt like forever before they came up to the windows. Up close, they finally could see some dim light and shapes in it. While Goro still felt uneasy…he finds himself peeking into them out of curiosity. 

He sees a kitchen. All tables, all chairs, all cabinets, and just all of the furniture was made of wood. Except for the pots, utensils, and other small things. What stood out most though was the black pot way farther in, boiling and letting out the same green smoke from before. Even more, in and out, he'd see figures of red and green coming to tend to it. To add something or stir it but it only serves to make whatever grotesque mixture was in it to bubble over the side. He couldn’t tell what color it was even...it kept going between being a bark brown, swamp green, and mustard yellow. 

"What the hell…" Goro mumbles, face scrunched up in pure disgust. Akira looks over his shoulder, curious to what has caught Goro's eye, immediately grimacing when he sees the grotesque mixture. 

"Is that supposed to be food..?" Akira mumbles as well. 

"It's not even presentable enough to be a farm animal's slop…" Goro replies back. 

"Those two must be experimenting again." 

Akira yelps at the feminine voice, jumping up high and hitting an edge of the house's roof which made him cry out even louder. Just as quickly, he comes back down and hisses as he rubs his head. 

"Akira…!" Goro scolds him quietly, giving the cat boy a scowl. 

"Sorry, sorry…! I got caught off guard!" Akira whispers back, whimpering as he keeps rubbing between his ears. Goro sighs. 

"Fair but...Akira, if we're supposed to be watching each other's backs, we gotta stand our ground. If you or I keep getting scared like this, we'll just put each other in more dan-" 

He's interrupted by a feminine voice clearing her voice. Both boys immediately turn to look who the voice belonged to. 

The face looked very similar to Niijima-san's sister but like Akira, the clothes didn't match her usual attire. Her hair was tucked in a strange, crescent shaped cloth hat. Though rather loosely as one strand of the brunette's hair would hang out on each side of her head. The top of her dress was elegantly patterned in green cloth with damask patterns, the sleeves being bishop style and the neck decorated with a white ruff collar. The skirt of it was large and draped, cloth outside of it being in the same green fabric as the top with the seams colored in golden and underneath, a darker green. 

Seeing that she had gotten their attention, she spoke to them. 

"What are you two doing here?" she asks, inquisitively. Usually, Goro would have no problem talking back to the real her but this version of her for some reason was...intimidating. No matter as she doesn't give him the chance to say anything anyway. 

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trespassing on my home." She says, an intense look growing on her face which pushes Goro to speak. 

"A-Apologizes, miss...w-we were just passing by-" 

"Passing by...through my garden?" She adds, frowning. 

"Through your-" Confused Goro starts to question but Akira taps his shoulder to make him turn to him. Sure enough, on the bottom of the boot Akira lifted up was some orange mush along with what must've been it's green vines. He slowly turns back to her. 

"O-Oh...S-Sorry, once again. Really we didn't mean to cause you any trouble-" Once again he's shut up, this time however by the stick he had. 

"No trouble? While holding this? Doesn't seem like a convincing story to me." She snarls, tapping his chin with the broken end of the stick...reminding Goro just how sharp it was.

Goro at this point was not sure if what he said would save the situation. He was usually a bit more collected when talking to an upset crowd but he only finds himself stuttering, like some invisible force was trying to keep him from explaining himself at all. 

"I-I-" She only poked lower down his chin, directly on his thyroid if he had to guess where. Goro squeezes his eyes shut, his panicking heart thumping in his head and his chest. 

"You've got to be nothing but a maraud-"

Suddenly, the pressure from the pointed stick was off him which took the fear-stricken Goro a moment to register. When it does, Goro dares to open his eyes. 

In front of him, Akira stood in a protective stance. His now puffed up tail had even curled around Goro's ankle. The raven's ears were down and through his shock, Goro heard him let an aggressive, cat-like (no surprise) howl. In his hands, Goro noticed that he held the stick. It seemed he had managed yanking it out of the woman's grasp while she was threatening Goro. The women looked shell-shocked at the cat boy's interference, maybe even a little scared. 

Though, noticing how Akira was shaking a little while holding the stick, he guessed Akira was scared too. 

"Look, me and him are just lost. He just wants to go home-" Akira points to Goro, conscious not to use the stick for it and using the thumb on his right hand while it’s still holding the makeshift spear. 

"We really were just trying to pass through and we didn't want to fight with you...but...you're not wrong to be mad. Being lost doesn't give us an excuse to step on your property without permission. Especially on your harvest.” He says, glancing down to his dirtied boot before looking back to her. 

“...so if there's something we could do for you so we can make our way out of here, we'll do it." 

Goro anxiously looks between the woman and Akira as she seems to think for a moment, her expression now borderline blank which didn’t help to know what she was thinking. 

Then...

"...I want you to take down a pig for me." She says finally. Seeing both boys confused, she points to the part of the woods Goro saw before. The part of the woods that was especially dark.

"There's a swine that lives in the woods there. It keeps coming to eat my crops. Not only does that cut off food, it cuts off my income and I have people who rely on me for money." She walks further out in the garden, being careful of the crops, before pulling out and bringing to them what Goro identifies as a clamped up bear trap. 

"And...not only is it hard to catch because of how large it is, it manages to escape my traps." She says, dropping the trap in front of them as if to empathize with her point. 

"If you take down the beast for me, I'll let you pass with no problems. Oh! But do make sure to bring him here after you've finished slaying him." She finishes with a grin. 

"Wait..but if you couldn't even catch it in a trap, what are we supposed to use to…" Goro trails off before he finishes his question, seeing that she was nowhere to be seen. The woman had already gone back to whatever other business she needed to take care of before he could even ask. He looks to Akira, who only shrugs and hands the stick back to Akechi. 

"Time for pig hunting." 

-

The forest was very dark like Goro predicted, no surprise there. He underestimated how dark though. It was like they were surrounded by black fog, only several trees could be seen in front of him and Akira. It was gonna be harder to spot this beast than he thought. 

"Akira...can you hear anything?" He asks the cat boy, as he looks around and behind him. 

"Nothing yet...but I can see pretty far in the forest though so I'll see him if he comes charging." 

"You can?" Goro asks, surprised. "I can barely see five feet in front of me." 

"Really?" Akira questions, just as surprised.

"Hmm...maybe there's something up with my eyes?" He asks Goro. Sure enough when Goro turns to him, he sees that Akira's normally grey eyes are now pure black and his pupils are dilating larger than most humans. His normal grey iris made a ring around it, very thin so it was hard to see at first. Yet another cat trait, it seemed. 

"Your pupils are rather unnaturally wide and dilated...dilation usually correlates with the eyes taking in all the light it can see in dim places so that is probably the reason you can see so well here while I have a harder time with it." He explains. 

"So...I can see in the dark?" Akira asks, his pitch black eyes practically sparkling in excitement and his tail swaying in the way a cat would when they were playing with yarn.

"Well...not exactly. You have to have some light. If it gets pitch dark anywhere, you won't be able to see anymore." Goro explains. 

Akira's ears drop down and he pouts in disappointment.

"Oh...That sucks." He says and slumps to the ground.

Ah, damn it. He didn't mean to bring his mood down! Goro has to fix this quickly, especially considering they have an aggressive swine nearby. 

"M-maybe but it's still...great." He assures Akira, sheepishly. At this moment, Goro realizes just how often he gives genuine compliments (much less, ones to help someone feeling low) because even something like that passing through his mouth felt so out of place and just...foreign of him. Usually he's not bothered by it but every now and then, he'll become aware of how inhuman that is. Like right now. 

"Is it…?" Akira looks at him with sad eyes, still upset at the drawback. 

"Yeah...yeah, it is. I mean..it's especially useful now. You're the one who'll see the hog coming before it even sees us. That's a pretty good advantage, don't you think?" He reasons. 

Akira thinks this over a minute before answering. "That is true...it's a big advantage." 

"Exactly...so stop being silly and chin up...and hind off the floor. Unless you want us to get caught by a foe again." Goro says assertively and Akira gets himself together, slowly getting up from the ground. 

"Right. Right. Gotcha. Gotcha." Akira says hurriedly then smiles at Goro. "Thanks, Goro." He adds softly. 

"It-It was nothing really...just pointing things out the way I see them." Goro says as he starts walking, a bit caught off guard by Akira's sincere gratitude. It was not that big of a deal...if only his face would stop burning so much because of it. It was embarrassing that he got so easily flustered by one praising word from such a ridiculous boy. It made no sense. 

Akira doesn't seem to mind Goro's fluster as much though as the ding-dong just kept walking with a smile on his face, making sure he stayed right by Goro as their hunt began. 

-

Hour after hour after the ordeal, the hunt is surprisingly uneventful. Goro felt just about ready to collapse on his own legs from all the endless walking. He kept on asking Akira every half hour if he saw the pig yet like an impatient child on a family road trip. He was sure he was annoying the raven but Akira acted patient as ever, replying ‘Not yet.’ each time. But he would eventually tire of having to say that, he's certain. 

"I'll say when I see it, Goro." Akira answers the last time Goro asks, somehow still patient. 

"...Then do you see a rock?" he asks, his voice worn.

"No, I don't and we haven’t passed any if you needed to know...why?" Akira questions him worriedly and Goro lets out a frustrated whine. 

"Hours...hours of walking and not even a damn-" 

Akira suddenly turns to Goro and covers his mouth with his hands (...or claws?) which gets an embarrassing startled squeak out of Goro. Being muffled by Akira's palm, he gives him a questioning groan which is only given a very quiet shush in return. The cat boy looks to Goro's right, turns to back to him again, and mouths to him while pointing in that direction. "Pig." 

Being practically blind in this forest, Goro of course can't see the pig. If he listens closely however, he can hear distant, short steps along with constant sniffing and snorting. The steps particularly sounded like they carried a very large body so he can only imagine how big it will be when he sees it. 

' _Ok...we found this pig, finally...but what now? We didn't think of a plan-_ ' 

Akira silently motions for Goro to hand him the stick which Goro hesitantly does. The cat boy gently starts doodling in the dirt with the point, crouching on the ground so Goro could see him work. The first crudely drawn image he saw was a head with ears which he could assume was Akira himself and a long haired head with a bow side to side with him who he could only assume was Goro himself. Then further out in front of the two drawings of them was a pig with grumpy eyebrows, to which Goro had to hold back at a small snort laugh. After that, he draws a circle around Goro and an arrow in front of the circle. Akira then makes a line from himself to past the pig and then draws a line from the pig to infront of Goro. As a finishing touch: he makes several lines around the arrow, as if to show an impact. Satisfied with his drawing, Akira finally hands the stick back. 

So…Akira was going to bait the hog into following him to their spot so Goro could catch it off guard and stab it with the spear. Not bad a plan. A good amount of it's solid structure will depend on Goro's timing and aim though. If he doesn't hit any weaks spot on the thing, it will be a failure they can't recover from. Especially if he accidentally hits the cat boy, he definitely couldn't afford to make that mistake. He'd have to listen very closely for them if he's gonna help Akira pull this off...and Akira was gonna have to make sure the pig didn't come too close to Goro. Again though, he could actually see through the forest so that reassured Goro just a little that he wouldn't make that mistake. 

With plan in place, Akira gives Goro a thumbs up before dashing off. Goro inhales and exhales slowly before gripping onto the makeshift weapon, getting ready for when he has to aim. 

' _Never thought I'd be hunting a pig of all things._ ' 

For the first several minutes, it's nothing but painful silence. It seemed to drag on for ages before he heard a horrifyingly loud squeal followed by stampeding hooves. That’s his cue. Goro listens carefully, fumbling only a little on the stick to make sure he held a firm handle on it. The hog was approaching him rapidly, sounding from the right of Goro. Now holding a secure grip onto the weapon, he raises it and locks his aim. Hearing a second much lighter set of feet stomping towards him, he restrains just a little. After all, Akira was leading the pig here. A good call as he sees Akira hops out from the shadows. 

"It's right behind! Aim, Goro!" Akira shouts as he ran past him. 

Goro acts quickly at the order, striking with the stick just as the pig comes in. It's height reached some taller than both boys. Weight wise, it was pudgy like any other pig but it had more rolls in the skin to it than most. Rather than any normal skin colors (like pink, white, black, etc.), it was a sickly looking light purple with dark purple spots. Under its snout were two long tusks, that reached up to its black beady eyes which could barely be seen under the thing's thick brows. If the thing had hair, Akira's drawing of it with eyebrows wouldn't be an exaggeration anymore.

The swine lets out the same squeal as before as the spear pierces through its heart. Goro lets go of the weapon the minute he hears it so he wouldn't get dragged along with it, watching as the animal starts to slow down but it still seems intent on chasing Akira. The cat boy doesn't seem to run out of stamina however, he just keeps running and swiftly dodging the pig's attempts at charging at him. Goro worries that the chase might never end till the wild beast starts to wobble and as it's about to try to tackle Akira one last time, it falls to the ground. Lying there for a minute, the raven takes this as a sign to check if it's still alive. Goro takes a bit more time to walk over, watching as Akira looked over the collapsed creature. 

"Is it dead?" He asks Akira, calling out to him.

"...It's down...but it's still breathing." The cat boy answers. Goro catches up, looking down at it. The wound in its chest had bled out quite a lot and the stick was still in but it didn't look deep enough to do the deed. The hog was still letting out short puffs of air. He reaches for the spear again, gripping it again before shoving the weapon deeper into the chest of it. With that, the pig's breath hitches sharply and stops. 

"Is it done?" Akira asks him, softly. When Goro looked at him, Akira's eyes were shut tight and his ears were down. His whole body stiff like a statue. 

Goro swiftly pulls out the stick, which to his disappointment, he realizes had broken. Some of it must've got stuck in the pig somehow. Oh well. 

"Yeah, it's passed now." He answers. Akira sighs in relief, opening his eyes and all tension left from him. 

"Don't do well with hunting, huh?" Goro asks, tossing the now dull stick aside. 

"Yeah...or just death to animals in general...but still, I'm glad you weren't too squeamish about doing this." Akira says, motioning to the still animal. "Otherwise, this plan wouldn't have gone so well." 

"Yes well...it's not my first time hunting." He says with a shrug. "Now, help me lift this thing up." 

Akira's ears perk, looking at Goro, stunned. "Really? Didn't think you'd be the type to hunt." He comments as he lifts up the right side of the pig while Goro lifts up the left. The comment makes Goro fumble with the pig a little. 

"It's...been awhile so it'd make sense why you'd think that." Goro replies through gritted teeth when truthfully, he doesn't even remember when his last 'hunt' was. Time seems to feel short between each one. He fairly was sure the last one was sooner than he was making it out to be. 

"Ah, I see!" After that, Akira and Goro don't say much more as they both focus on carrying the heavy load to the lady.


	3. Burn The House Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter, coming up! Took a bit more time to make this one but it should be an interesting one for you guys. Not only am I going to be experimenting by adding a certain kitty's point of view to the story but it seems things are starting to get odd...really odd….also the boys get in even bigger trouble. Hope you enjoy!

"Miss, we've got'em!" Akira yells when sore-armed him and Goro are out of the dark woods and into the clearing with the cottage, still somehow managing to carry the big, purple, recently deceased animal the whole way over. The woman in green wasn't present to greet them however. "Hmmm...maybe she ran to do chores-" 

At least not at first. As if on cue, her authoritative voice addresses them from behind. Out of nowhere, once again. Thankfully without Akira hopping in the air from fright this time. 

"I would prefer to be called Duchess, thank you." 

Goro turns to face the woman properly, Akira stumbling after him so they wouldn't drop their catch. 

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind for the future but on more important matters, we've gotten the beast like you asked. So if you could-" 

"You can drop it if you need to, I want to make sure you've taken down the right one anyway." She interrupts Goro, tone calm despite how hurriedly she was to speak over him. 

Not needing any other words, Akira drops the pig down in front of the Duchess. Once he did, he sighs what had to be the most expressive war-cry of relief in history to the heavens. Goro dropped his side of the pig along with him, massaging his arms afterwards and exhaling his own relief. His wrists were especially hurt, not used to holding so much weight. The heaviest thing he's ever had to carry for just as long was the file-filled briefcase he always carried for work. Drastic difference in size compared to the who knows how many tons swine in front of them. The Duchess attentively gives the pig a minute and a half long examination before nodding with a pleased grin. 

"Yes, this would be him...you've succeeded. Good job." She affirms with them. 

"Glad...so does that mean you'll let us go now?" Akira asked, winded and as sore as Goro in his arms but unable to soothe them as easily cause his claws seemingly kept poking him when he tried to put more pressure on them. 

"We're not quite even yet-" She says. Goro was about a pinch close to shouting a worded complaint but he only got to do as much as scowl before she held her hand up to plead him to listen first.

"Oh no, don't take it the wrong way. What I meant was…Well..." She starts digging around in the weave basket she had hanging on her elbow as she talks. "It..was rather unfair of me to attack you before...and I want to give you something...as an apology." She explains.

"...oh." He simply says, not quite sure how to react to someone who had aggressively attacked and very likely also threatened to kill him apologizing for it. Her voice was still neutral through her explanation but he could see genuine guilt as she was fumbling around with the miscellaneous objects she had stuffed in that basket. A mannerism that he would expect from the soft-spoken, younger Niijima sister more as opposed to the defensive one earlier. Goro had started to wonder if that intensity could be a shared trait in the family. After all, if a figment clone of her could be this intimidating then the real her could be as well... maybe just not as openly practiced with it as her older sibling? 

"Ah, here." She says softly, pulling out a small brown pouch big enough to fit a tennis ball inside it. It looked a little worn, likely from the abuse of all the stuff that was on top of it in that basket but the fabric was thick and tailored to last. The thin, beige ropes woven into the accessory’s open end worked as a seal, meant to close with just one pull of the stubby knotted strings on the left and right of it. A large loose hoop was also attached to it but it appeared more clasped on rather than sewn in like the minuscule pull strings. 

"Knew I kept it here. I was in such a rush out here, I didn't have the chance to even take it out of the basket when I found it." She mumbles to herself then holds it out to Goro. 

"I'm sorry it's nothing too extravagant, the market is a miserably long trip from here otherwise I would've picked something better there but I noticed you didn't have pockets and I've had this on me for a long time so...I figured you could put it to use. You never know when you might need to hold onto something." She explains, visibly worried that the gift might not be enough. 

"It's fine...it's..actually very thoughtful. So all is forgiven." Goro reassures her, taking the little bag from her. He messes with the tangled rope some before figuring out the large loop was supposed to be a belt. Both ends of the loop were secured together onto the bag by a silver ring on the drawstring. Carefully, he unties one end from the circular captor before retying it all, binding the girdle snugly around his waist and letting the bag hang from the left side of his skirt. 

"Thank goodness…" The Duchess says with a relieved smile, only to immediately gasp. 

“Oh no, I don’t have anything for you and...I’m sure I’ve scared you as well.” she adds, jolting her head to Akira which catches the raven off guard. 

While that is true, Goro was sure that Akira was doing much better during the whole ordeal. He was the one to stand up to her and stop her attacking after all (also his throat was completely out of harm’s way unlike a certain someone he knew) so there wasn't really a need for her to give him an apology as extreme as Goro’s but he was still fumbling with the somewhat tricky waist sash at this point in the two’s conversation so he doesn’t bother to comment on it. 

“M-Me? Well..I don’t really need anything…” Akira says, bemused by her insistence as well before glancing over at Goro. Goro just barely glances back and raises an inquisitive eyebrow at him as he’s getting the large hoop undone. 

“...but if I may ask something,” Akira starts, turning back to Duchess with a startlingly resolute demeanor. “You wouldn’t happen to know where we’d find the king, would you?” 

Goro halts in the middle of securing the belt around him at the question...then gets right back to finishing the belt. He starts to listen more attentively to the conversation though. 

“The king?” She curiously mirrors Akira, who simply nods and waits for her answer. 

"Hmm...Well, he lives in the kingdom, no doubt...but I haven't gotten around far enough to really know where it is honestly...someone close to me rode for personal business some time ago but she hasn't come back since...didn't even send me an invitation to visit. If she did, I'm sure I would've received a map to get there that you could use. Though I suppose it would be highly difficult to make a request to someone as busy as the king." She states solemnly but resumes with enthusiasm. "However..there is a neighbor nearby that lives on my routine path to the market. I've never gotten to talk to her even when I've made special deliveries over there but I've heard from others that she's rather knowledgeable and her work is heavily praised. Her position in her work is supposedly high too...so I'm certain she's had to have been requested to the kingdom once at least. She's always busy but I'm sure she'll stop to help you if you ask." 

Only when she stops does she notice the hype in her voice, making the girl have to clear her throat to ease her slight embarrassment. "A-Again though, this is purely based on what I've heard so it's a hunch. Apologies for not being able to help more than that." She adds meekly. 

"No no! That's more than enough! Tell me, how do we find her?" Akira asks, smiling widely, tail and ears up. The corner of Goro's mouth turned up a little too. While the Duchess's advice could be a blind grab as she said, it was a great stepping stone that he and Akira could work from instead of just sticking to wandering aimlessly for hours. 

The Duchess seems more confident after the positive response from Akira, grinning as well. "Just keep going down the path from here. It'll be a bit of a trudge at the start but you'll only have to get to the first left. Down the path there, it will be a bit curvy and downhill but it's only one short, singular path. Her house will be right at the end. It's the only house there so it's hard to miss." 

Akira grins and nods, happy with all the information he got. "Gotcha, it sounds simple enough so it'll be no problem. Thank you so much, it's a big help." He tells her gratefully. 

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I'm glad to help. You sure that's all you needed?" She asks him. 

"Yeah, that's all. Besides, we really need to get back on the trail." Akira assures her. 

"If you are sure...safe travels then and be sure to stop by if you get the chance." 

' _Her fussing better not keep us here any longer than necessary._ ' Goro thinks, huffy but resisting the urge to start tapping his foot. Akira spares him anymore annoyance, finishing things off with the Duchess with his usual friendliness. 

"Thanks again and will do, see you around!" After his chipper farwell, he turns to Goro and smiles readily. 

"Shall we take off then?" 

"Yeah." Avoiding the plants, preventing a repeat of the earlier incident with Akira's boot and the cat boy and The Duchess giving one last wave goodbye to each other: The boys make their way down the path in the back of the cottage. 

-

"...You know, I believe I owe you a thanks." 

Goro brought up after silent miles on their trip, left of the path already long taken and deep into the woods in it. Not that he wasn't comfortable with quiet but that doesn't mean it couldn't get uncomfortable...and that was the only thing that he felt was right to say....and it was something he should've said earlier. 

"Hmm? What for?" Akira asks him. The oblivious oaf.

"Asking her back there?" Goro answers with a shrug.

"Even if I knew she could help us find where to go from the start..I don't think I'd be able to do it." As shameful as that is for him to admit. 

"Oh! I mean..that's nothing really..I kinda just thought of that on the fly and I was a bit hesitant too but I thought, 'No real harm in asking.'..." Akira says, glancing over at him with a smile. "Also..I did say I was gonna help you get home. If I am to achieve that, I've got to do all I can do." 

Goro hummed in understanding. He knew Akira said he would but he honestly wasn't expecting him to be so devoted to helping him out so it kinda went over his head. 

"Mhm, so you don't need to thank me twice." Akira states, proudly. Goro glances back at him with a smirk. 

"Trying to show off to me, Akira?" He asks which stupefies the boy, slowing him in his jaunt. 

"What makes you say that?" The raven asks, blinking at him in pure confusion at the sudden accusation. Goro stops in his tracks as well to answer him.

"...I may have stated you deserved to hear one from me now but I never explicitly said 'thank you'. Not once." He points out, still grinning like an imp. 

Akira's face slowly turned red at the realization, looking down to the ground with his tail swaying low. He scratches his cheek lightly with his pointer finger. "O-Oh…." He mumbles like a shy school girl. 

Goro chuckles at the boy's mistake, his grin turning to a smirk. Akira glares at Goro, his ears flattening in even more embarrassment and his tail swatting side to side. 

"...for the record, I wasn't trying to be a show off...I was just being kind yet here you are, making fun of me for it." Akira says, his voice certain but afraid to say something wrong again. 

"Oh, being kind was it?" Goro taunted, still smiling. 

"I was, honest!" Akira whines, helplessly. Despite how childish and defensive he sounded, Goro could tell that the boy was telling the truth. Though if he were to be honest, he was having a bit too much teasing the poor guy to let him off the hook...but he couldn't keep dragging this out, it would be too cruel. 

"...I believe you. I believe you, don't worry...sorry to put you on the spot." Goro apologizes, giving the distressed raven a quick pat on the head. "Also since I didn't tell you before...thank you. I appreciate all the help." He adds, sincerely. 

Akira is stunned and caught off guard by the uncharacteristic head pat from Goro (as was Goro himself, who might have felt a bit embarrassed about doing it so casually) but he doesn't say anything, staring down to the ground still. 

"It's not like I was actually mad...just feeling survivable amounts of humiliation...but thank you for sparing me from anymore of your ruthless mockery." He looks back up. "And you're welcome." 

"You're welcome too. Just try not to give me another excuse to do it again and you'll be fine." He says cheekily and Akira only huffs. 

"Don't plan on it, you're wit got me this time but it'll only get me this time." He says confidently, starting to walk again. 

"Mhm.." Goro hums as he follows, pausing in his words only a moment before daring to speak again.

"Would saving me from the Duchess's attack count in your first promise too or is it something separate that I still need to thank you for? I'm not quite sure." He asks curiously. 

Akira bites his bottom lip in thought for a moment before waving it off. "Beats me honestly but...whether it is or not, you don't have to thank me at all for that...it..was something out of my own will. I wanted to do it." 

This time, it's Goro's cheeks who turn red. 

"...I see…" he mumbles, barely covering the crack in his voice. 

' _He doesn't have to try at all, does he?_ ' Goro almost slapped himself for that thought...but he didn't. Also he was starting to see something coming up ahead of them so he keeps his eyes open and on the road till they're close enough for him to make out what it is. 

A tall, midnight blue house with a jaggy, sharp, black roof stood in the shade under some willow trees and on slightly overgrown grass. Whoever built it, clearly wasn't intent on letting much light in...or letting anything really get a chance to see people inside. Only a few windows were situated on the sides of the house, placed miscellaneously. Front windows however seemed to be more neatly placed; a large window framed neatly at the top and two windows on each side the black front door. Let the paint and roof chip away over time, spruce it up inside, and it could be used as a haunted house. 

"...Cozy…" Goro mutters sarcastically with the click of his tongue, slightly disturbed by the house. However he wasn't here to question anybody's choice of sanctuary. "Well...let's knock, Akir-" 

The boy was gone when he looked next to him though. Vanished. 

"Akira?" To the relief of his short scare, he only had to look infront to find him materializing out of thin air like when the raven introduced himself...but it grew back somewhat seeing that he had wandered off ahead, near the front door already. 

"Akira." He bellowed to the cat boy, tone warning. They really can't afford to go through with this again. However Akira doesn't come back, only runs ahead and charges into the house. 

"Akira!" Goro scolds Akira as he angrily stomps over. Reaching several steps to the door, he stops to add. "Didn't we learn our lesson about trespassing earlier or not?"

"I-I know but...G-Goro, come look!" Akira shouts, hastily motioning the brunette inside before going through the front door again. Goro groans but he takes the boy's request, hesitantly following him inside the house. Now that he was taking in the house closer...the door was cracked open before his travelling companion even went through...like it was beckoning them in. As if that wasn't heavily unsettling enough...the moment he stepped in, the hair at the back of his neck stood on end a little. 

The place looked trashed. Cushion chairs and couches torn to shreds, stuffing sticking out and thrown about the place. Books were also scattered about and likely tossed out from their shelves, which all had been knocked down on its side. Stand-tables had also been knocked down, one glass orb lamp and several picture frames broken in glass shards. Destruction seemed to have struck every corner of this room but the most startling detail of it all was a red trail following from halfway up the stairs to the front door, stained in the large rug in the middle of the room but smudging somewhat on the wooden floors. Akira looked just as stunned by the scene, taking small steps into the home. Goro finds himself following after him. 

"...The Duchess said it was the only house down the road, right?" Goro asks Akira, who confirms with a small nod before continuing to look around. That's what he thought...but that would mean the lady that Duchess had told them about was the victim. He sighs, dismayed for numerous reasons, running a hand through his hair. 

"Poor lady....what happened here?" Akira asks, his expression distraught and really Goro couldn't blame him. Home invasions could be horrid on many levels for many people. Even to bystanders like him. 

"Certainly nothing good..." Goro answers him, bitterly. He is suddenly startled by cracking and looking down, he sees that he's stepped on one of the pictures while he was spaced out. He carefully picks it up, gently brushing off the bits of glass, crunched beyond repair and looking at the picture. 

The side of the frame that met doom under Goro's shoes was difficult to see at all anymore but he could guess it was a woman. Dressed all in black and hair grown short along with some black circles seeming to grow from them. The only part of her that could be seen is the arm she had around a shorter girl to pull her close. A small, ginger mouse-child. While there were several differences, the little girl looked eerily familiar…

Feeling the pressure of two soft tips on his forehead, Goro glances up to see Akira staring down at the picture thoughtfully while his ears poked into Gore's forehead. 

"Can I help you?" He asks the raven. 

"Hmm?" Akira looks up at Goro before shaking his head, stepping back to give him a little more room once he realized he was invading Goro's personal bubble.

"Oh no, I'm fine. It's just…" He glances at the picture a moment before shaking his head one more time.

"Actually, it's nothing important. Don't worry about it." Goro narrows his eyes a bit at Akira's suddenly reserved behavior but doesn't interrogate him on it, placing the photograph on one of the knocked over tables. 

"But...shouldn't we check to see if there's anyone around?" Akira asks which makes Goro stare at him, incredulously. 

"I don't think anybody in this house is around anymore, Akira." Goro says, a bit too bluntly for the statement. 

"Maybe not the woman but...you never know, more than one person can live in one home. They are probably just scared and hiding somewhere." Akira reasons, shrugging his shoulders, his expression hopeful and begging. Goro heavily doubted still that someone would still be in the house with such horrendous surroundings around them but on the other hand, he had a feeling that Akira would be gloomy and unable to find peace if he didn't get to try at all...Akira in the real-world would've wanted to try too. 

"...Ok, I suppose it doesn't hurt to check." Goro decides, pointing the cat boy upstairs. "Let's start with the second floor." 

Akira simply smiles softly, hopping up the stairs with the brunette following after. In the hall they see reaching the top of the stairs, there's three doors. One on the left and two on the right. 

"I'll check this one." Goro says, pointing to the first door on the right then to the other two. "You check those rooms. My guess is the one on the left is a bathroom so it shouldn't take as long as the other. I'll come help you if I don't find anything in my room."

Akira gives a thumbs up before immediately going to investigate. Goro opens the door to his room, looking around. Black and silver was most of the color scheme of the room and style-wise, it was a rather simple, master bedroom. Bed, dressers, and all. Only little decorations like more picture frames and several green plants. This would be an easier search than he thought. 

"Alright…" Goro says, rubbing his gloved hands together before starting the search.

He checks behind the door while closing it behind him….nothing. He opens the closet filled with more dark shoes, shirts and a handful of dresses...nothing. He checks the rather lumpy, black bed sheets...only to see it was more blankets. Nobody was around, no matter where he looked in the room. 

"Nothing I wasn't expecting really but-" Goro pauses when he spots a dull baby-blue jar on the large, black vanity pressed to the wall in front of the bed. The jar itself wasn't what caught his eye though...but rather the mini-sweets that were in it. Some sugary powder cookie with brightly colored frosting, each engraved with ' _Eat Me_ '. While that was a vaguely foreboding thing to have written on, Goro's stomach growls seeing them. Gentle reminder of how little he ate actual meals sometimes. He has gotten looks for only grabbing an apple at the convenience store once. He has even forgotten to eat at all completely while he was working sometimes too and when he stopped, he'd only then notice his stomach's pleas for help. A rather bad system but it didn't bother him...usually. Right now however, his stomach felt ready to turn inside out from the hunger. Especially around the sweet treats before him. Unpleasant and bothersome for him. 

"....hopefully one won't hurt anyone." He mutters, grabbing one of the sweets and taking a good bite out of it. It was a bit more tart and crusty compared to his chewier expectations but it felt good just to have something to digest finally and the rumble of his appetite seemed to be satiated so he couldn't really complain. With one long, last look at the room, he pops the rest of his food into his mouth and wipes his crumby gloved hands on his apron. 

' _Better go see how Akira's doing…_ ' he thinks, walking out. Seeing that the bathroom door is open and assuming that Akira had already checked it, he immediately turns to the second bedroom.

Only to be stopped by the frame of the door, slamming harshly against his forehead. 

"Agh…! Ghh-damn.." he groans in pain, rubbing his pain throbbing head. Goro was sure the door wasn't this short so this was odd...but when he looks down at his hands, he finds an utterly horrifying reason to why that is…

His body was slowly but surely growing in size. 

-

"Helloooo!" Akira called though he was only looking through the cramped closet of the room he was in. He sighs in disappointment when he finds nobody. He was searching at an incredibly fast pace, yet he has managed to find zero people. 

Not even that little mouse girl in the picture. As much as he hoped to see other survivors, he was most upset about not finding her. He knew that sounded strange...but something about her was familiar to Akira. Like he knew her once...he couldn't pin-point why though. Not even one name to match her face came to mind. Why is someone he doesn’t remember meeting once so important? If he can’t even remember her, should he be this dogged about finding her?

“...Maybe I shouldn’t have suggested this. This is just slowing us down and Goro really wants to get home…” Akira murmured thoughtfully. 

The cat boy is brought out of his thoughts when from the window, he hears faraway voices speaking. Gradually getting closer to the house. Akira’s ears flicked to their direction, instinctively curious to the source. Creeping out of the closet, he peers out the window to find out what or who was making the noise. 

Men. Six soldiers exactly. All dressed in studded armor, three in pure obsidian and three in wine red. The hood helmets hung low over their heads so he couldn’t make out any of their faces. Every inch of their bodies were protected really. Gloves, high boots, long sleeved and collared undershirt...just no skin was allowed to be seen. On their hips were leather belts holding holsters fit for daggers on it’s right and satchels on the left. 

“If the king insists that there’s nothing to be found then there’s nothing to be found…” One of the obsidian soldiers insists.

“I still stand by my words...majesty relies too much on an overgrown reptile that could easily miss an ant. Why should we trust it’s word?” One of the red one questions. 

“Won’t rat on you but you better be careful on what you say. Saying things like that could cost you your head.” Another obsidian one warns. 

The men keep on going back and forth with each other but Akira doesn’t bother listening too much after the first half of the exchange, already having trouble pondering on what it all meant. 

Most of all, what was the king trying to find exactly? 

"Agh…! Ghh-damn.."

Akira turns away from the window at the pained voice from the hall...it sounded like Goro! He rushes over immediately the minute he took that in. 

“Goro, what’s wrong-” 

It didn’t take long at all to realize what was wrong. Goro, curled in the corner, had grown to reach halfway to the ceiling of the hall and he was only getting closer to having his head hit it. He was holding onto the walls in vain attempt to stop himself but alas, it didn’t help the brunette at all. Akira only wondered for a moment if this was something that was normal for him but seeing the dress-clad lad so visibly panicking quickly shuts down that stupid speculation.

“Goro, what’s happening to you?!” He asks, growing anxious himself. 

“How should I know?! It’s not like this happens everyday for me!” Goro shouts angrily and due to his current size, rather loudly. Akira winces and covers his ears at how thunderous the boy’s voice became before responding. 

“Ok! Calm down and don’t hurt my ears. Can’t help you any better if I go deaf.” He attempts to soothe. It seems to be effective in making him turn down his volume but it fails in making him any calmer about the situation. 

“Calm, how am I supposed to be calm?” Goro says with gritted teeth, his head very close now to reaching the top of the ceiling. “I’m gonna be decapitated from bending my neck too much if this keeps up and who knows how crooked my arms and legs will get before that happens.” He adds, Akira grimacing at the uncomfortable and graphic visual. 

“I get it but-” He starts to say but he hears the familiar voice of one of the soldiers’ gruff voice speak. 

“Hold on, men! There’s someone still in the house!” 

Goro had glanced in the direction of the man’s voice when he spoke then glances back over to Akira. 

“What’s that?” Goro asks and Akira shrugs. 

“I don’t know, they seem to be soldiers of some kind.” he answers as stomping sounded below them. 

“Why are they here?” The brunette asks, seemingly to himself but Akira answers him still. 

“They seem to be looking for something but what, I’m not sure.” 

They hear the soldier stomp on the ground and call out to them. “Whoever you are, show yourself!”. 

“...I’m gonna talk to him. Maybe they’ll help. Stay here.” Akira says as he rushes down to confront the soldier. 

“Can’t really go anywhere…” 

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Akira pokes his head out to see one of the red soldiers there. He looks ready to attack, hand hovering over where his small sword was stashed as he looks around. 

“No need to be alarmed, sir! We’re not here to fight, we just need hel-” The raven has no chance to finish his treaty of peace however. Minute the soldier turns to face him, his expression grows even more hostile. 

“You!” He shouts, pulling the weapon out of its sheath and charging to swing at Akira. Despite confusion at the soldier seeming to know him, he manages to jump out of the way with a yelp. Hyperventilating, he rushes back up the stairs to Goro. 

“Get back here, fish-breath!” he hears the soldier shout, chasing after him.

Akira is so caught up in getting away from the violent man, he almost runs into Goro’s foot. Goro at this point had grown large, head having to crook along the ceiling like the brunette predicted. His left knee was pressing up to his chest while the right (side that Akira almost hit) was sticking outward. His arms were stretched out, left ready to go in the bathroom and the right into the messy second bedroom . 

“Sorry but help from them is out of the question!” Akira practically sputters all in one sentence to Goro, still in panic mode. 

“Why-” On cue, the red soldier reaches the top of the stairs. 

“You’ve got nowhere to run, mon-” The man’s anger leaves his body in an instant, replaced by intense fear and cowardice as he looks up at the overgrown Goro. No words. Just a blood curdling scream before running for his life. 

“M-MONSTER…!!!” 

Goro makes a perplexed look before turning to Akira. The cat boy was ready to give him an explanation but they were interrupted by loud shouting outside. 

“Monster!! There’s a monster in there!!” They hear the man from before yell out to his crew. 

“Calm down! What do you mean monster?” One of them asks, which Akira recognizes as one of the obsidian soldiers.

“I mean what I mean! A monster! It reached the ceiling and it had blood thirsty red eyes!” 

Akira glances up to look at Goro's eyes a moment but he quickly turns away when Goro catches him staring. 

“Why didn’t you just take him down then?” 

“I-It’s too large for our knives! I-It wouldn’t go down with just a stab!” 

There’s a pause before the man asks him, “Did it chase after you?” 

Another pause and the scared soldier speaks. “N-No...in fact...it seems..s-stuck.” 

“...Good...but we can’t leave it alone and risk it getting out.” 

He doesn’t say anything after that but they hear shuffling of leather...then a bottle being cracked against some hard surface...then some swift scratch noise...and then a muted but steadily snowballing roar of what sounded like flames. Akira's fur bristles as he thought with terror. 

‘ _ **He’s setting the house on fire…!**_ ’

Unbothered to hear the men riding off, the boys are wide-eyed and rattled in horror at the implication of that noise. Sure, Akira was free to run out of here but Goro was stuck and if he couldn’t get out…

The brunette makes a soft distressed noise, curling in himself. At least as much as he could with his cramped amount of space.

“Just when I thought my death was as brutal as it could get…” 

Akira was close to doing the same as him but swallowed down the lump in his throat. If he was going to have any chance of helping Goro, he had to stay calm for him. “G-Goro, stay with me now. We can’t lose it yet.” 

“I’m going to get cooked alive, Akira-!” 

“I know! But...just think, Goro! I mean, there’s gotta be a reason for this!” 

That statement alone seems to make something click in Goro’s head. 

“The cookies…” He mutters which makes the cat boy tilt his head at him, massively confused.

“Huh?” 

“In the room I was in before, there’s a bowl of them in there. I ate one of them before this…!” He clarifies, taking his hand from the bathroom to motion to his overgrown body. “That has to be it!” 

“If that’s it..then maybe the cure’s in there! Be right back!” Akira hurriedly says, running into the room. 

Functioning on pure adrenaline, he zeroes on where the treats are and starts to tear apart the vanity they sat on. Drawer by drawer, he pries them open and tosses them aside before reaching for the next. Make up, earrings, necklaces, and many miniature accessories went flying with the thrown drawers and crashing to the ground. Otherwise, coming up empty. 

“Come on…!” He breathes as he keeps up with his intense onslaught of the black desk. 

That’s when he finds it...a large bottle. A large, purple bottle with a cork and a white patch of paper pasted on. Engraved on it were only two words. 

“‘ _Drink me_ ’.” He reads. He glances at the cookies in the bowl. “...’ _Eat me_ ’.” He reads on them and his eyes widen. 

“GORO!” Akira uncorks the bottle with his thumbnail and rushes over to him, cautious not to spill any of the liquid inside. He offers the bottle to Goro, holding it up persistently. 

“If eating the cookies makes you grow, maybe drinking this will make you shrink!” 

The brunette eyes the bottle suspiciously a moment then carefully grabs the bottle between his thumb and pointer nails. He prepares himself, breathing in shakily before he takes a small sip of the drink. Miraculously, Goro starts to shrink down in only seconds; much faster than the growing effect of the sweets. Downside however is that he shrunk down till he could barely be seen by the raven, falling backwards from how fast he transformed.

“Goro, you alright?” Akira asks, squatting down as low as he could to properly face the ant-size boy. 

“I can get out of here now but it’ll take me ages to even get downstairs.” Goro grumbles, getting up and patting down his apron. Akira holds out a palm to him. 

“Here, I’ll give you a lift.” Goro gives the same look as he did with the bottle at the outstretched hand before crawling on. 

“Be careful with those nails of yours.” He warns, holding onto Akira’s pointer to keep himself steady for the ride. “And don’t close your hand.” 

“Gotcha.” 

Holding the ‘Goro carrier’ hand close to his chest and grabbing the bottle with the other, he dashed his way downstairs. The fire had spread pretty fast for just a small match, it could be seen from one of the front door windows to all the windows in the kitchen. The bottle noise they heard probably had something to do with that. Thankfully however, the near inferno had yet to reach the front door itself but it wouldn’t take much longer. Adrenaline still pumping, Akira charges towards the door and hops out. 

Simultaneously, the two boys both sigh in relief when they see that they made it out before they got scorched. They take a moment to calm themselves before the brunette looks up from the sharp nailed claws of Akira. 

“Did you know those guys?” he asks. 

Akira blinks at the question before shaking his head. “No...but they seem to know me for some reason...and I apparently don’t have the best rep with them.” 

Goro huffs a laugh. “That’s an understatement, wasn’t that red soldier trying to kill you?”

Akira’s ears flatten as he frowns at the memory. “...Yeaaah..” 

Goro nods, running a hand through his head of chestnut brown hair. 

“...Sorry, I kept you in there. Wouldn’t have gotten into this if we just kept going…” Akira tells him, his voice guilt-ridden. If he hadn’t been so distracted from his own thoughts, if he didn’t insist on the search...then Goro could’ve been spared of all this grief. 

The apology seems to shock Goro, his reddish brown eyes widely looking up at him but he immediately composes himself before giving a reply. 

“While it may be true that I didn't think it would lead to anything...you just wanted to save anyone you could and...there's nothing wrong with trying." 

'That's true...' Akira thinks, subconsciously nodding his head. 

"And besides, it’s not like you intended for this all to happen. You didn't ask for those guys to show up, right?” Akira slowly shakes his head. Of course he didn’t. He promised Goro that he’d help. Not hold him back. If he can help it at all, he’d bash through any obstacle that dared to get in the way. 

“Then you don’t have to apologize.” The brunette states with finality. 

Well, if Goro doesn't blame him for anything that happened...then Akira didn't need to feel bad about anything that happened. Akira’s ears perk up happily again, relieved by Goro's statement. 

“Ok.” 

Goro nods then looks down to the ground. 

“We have another problem with all this now though...as much as I trust that I’m safe in your literal hands, It’s a bit much for me to be carried around just so I can keep up with you.” he says.

“....give me a second.” 

Akira lowers the hand Goro was in and tilts it slightly so the boy could slide off his hand. He got off gently and without problems but the brunette still gave him a confused look. 

“Akira, what are you-” 

He grabs the purple bottle and he says, “Bottoms up.” before taking a swig. Just like with Goro, he’s shrinking in an instant. He goes down and down, the bottle getting too big for his hand and dropping to the ground, till eventually he’s the same size as his partner and falls on his back. 

_Step. Step._

“You stoop to ridiculous levels of stupid just to do someone a favor, do you realize that?” 

He looks up to see Goro, giving intense, judging look down at him. Staring closely though, he could see just a spark of gratefulness in his eyes. 

Akira simply smiles and shrugs, getting up and dusting himself off. 

“It's what makes my charm~” he explains, theatricality with a smile. Arms stretching out in the beginning of a bow for effect. 

Goro rolls his eyes and shakes his head at his cheesy line (making Akira hiss out a soft laugh through his toothy grin) before dismissing it and looking up. Having developed a habit of following after Goro at this point, Akira drops his arms and looks up as well. Observing around them, they see nothing but the strands of grass, several stray weeds, and the dirt. Due to the overgrowth, they barely saw the roof of the burning house. By some miracle, the sky seemed to start pouring lightly and slow the flames' growth. Slowly wetting the ground underneath them. Akira only wished that they had been saved by this sooner but it was what it was. He was just glad they got out instead of risking the house burning up to them from below. 

“Well now that both of us are insects...what now?” Akira asks curiously. 

“..I’d say we follow what our source tells us but..” Goro starts, staring meaningfully at the large purple bottle. “As we saw, our source got in some serious trouble before we got to her.” He finishes. 

“I’d say...do you think she had anything to do with…?” Akira asks, pointing to the bottle. 

“That would be my best guess.” Goro says with a nod, looking at the bottle. Watching him, Akira notices the boy’s eyes are squinting and he was tilting himself slightly. Following the boy’s eyesight, he squints to see what he sees. Thin writing could be seen just on the left of the ‘ _Drink Me_ ’ patch. Holding it before, he couldn’t see it before so it must’ve been written by someone of their size now. Habit taking over Akira once more, both of them step forward to get closer to see if they could read it. Sure enough, on closer inspection it was found. Clear and neat on the bottle was a cursive signature. ‘ _Caterpillar_ ’, it said. Out the corner of his eye, Akira sees Goro’s expression turns from somewhat sour to hopeful. 

“Looks like we may still have a source to go to after all.” Goro tells Akira, confidently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick question for you all, would you guys be opposed to a second story like this one? A fairytale with my own twist, persona characters, and most of all Akeshu? I've got an idea for it. I was thinking of saving it till I finished this one but again if I ever get creative block on what to write here, I could have the second story there to be written for (and vice versa) so I'll feel productive no matter what and still have something to give you guys. Tell me your thoughts on that.


	4. Who Are You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gross (and possibly disturbing) fun fact: At my old house, LOTS of bugs (mainly lady bugs) would come in during the fall-winter and my cat would just...snack on them.....yeah...you'll figure out where I put that disgusting memory in the story soon enough...also cause of it, Akira may have been given a bit of a hard time...anyway, despite that, there is also some cute moments to be had with both our boys as well~! (Meaning, they're starting to catch real feels y'all) On with the fourth chapter!

Being several inches or centimeters small was proving to be a real cruch in their trip as Goro predicted, nightfall hit and the boys still hadn't made their way out of the grass patch. The entire time, Akira was using his long jacket as a poor quality, makeshift umbrella for them as the rain was still pouring down. Kept their heads dry but their hands had to keep the thing held up so not only did they have to put energy into making sure it didn't slip out of their grips, they had the uncomfortable misfortune of water dripping down their arms. Soaking Akira's sleeve but only dripping down and from Goro's bare elbow. That is until the brunette spotted a pile of rocks that were placed to form a cave coming up to the right of them.

"Let's stop here, this is getting exhausting." Goro declared, pointing to the miscellaneous stones. Akira hummed in agreement before nodding for Goro to release the jacket and run under first before dashing under himself, ringing out the drenched article once he was out of the downpour. The brunette sighs and rests his head against the rocks, tucking his skirt under his legs as he sits down to the ground. Relaxed despite the cold dirt, his body just happy to have a break...then he feels the wet shoulders of Akira press against him as the cat boy joins him. 

Startled Goro had a complaint ready on his lips but it vanished when he noticed the raven was shivering, curled in on himself with his tail wrapped around his feet. He was freezing to the touch (the reason for his presence being so startling and intrusive before to Goro) without a pinch of body heat to be felt. His thin, soaked shirt clearly did no justice in keeping him warm too and putting on his jacket (which had been thrown out in front of them) wouldn't make it any better till it dried too so his comments fall flat and he doesn't make a move to shove him away. For a moment, it's silent aside from the pitter patter of the rain till Akira breaks it.

"Where do you think we'll find this 'caterpillar'?" He asks which is a fair question. There may be many caterpillars around. 

"If I'm guessing correctly, the caterpillar may be the one who brewed it for the neighbor…classy drinks usually have their creator's signature engraved on the bottle. Like we saw on the potion's bottle. Therefore, we'd likely find him at a brewery of some kind." Goro explained. It was the best guess for getting them anywhere as any. Who knew how many caterpillars ran breweries but he was certain it'd narrow down who to search for even in this wacky place.

Akira seemed to take this as the best answer as well, simply nodding his head. Goro was sure that'd be the end of it but the raven asks another question after another short silence. 

"Goro, you said you have a friend who looks like me, right?" 

The brunette is stunned being asked something like that so suddenly but he hummed in affirmation that the catboy remembered right. 

"...What's he like?" He asks, glancing over to him curiously. Goro bites his lip a moment then shrugs as he replies. 

"Easily makes friends with the people that talk to him...despite his tendency to blend in with the crowd, he stands out when he wants to…" 

A trait of the boy that Goro was honestly jealous of...it took an extensive amount of time to get his name out there in the media. Meanwhile, the boy could make a pack of friends no problem. Pack of misfits maybe but...companions closer than anyone Goro's had his entire life. Not by being a people pleaser but...likely just speaking his mind. He was the only one who had the guts to speak the complete opposite of his opinion the day they met, right on public television afterall. As for him...if he isn’t careful about what he says or he doesn’t fulfill their expectations, fans, co-workers, or ‘employer’ can easily turn to enemies. Though he learned recently that even the words he was previously praised for can get him scolded later so...there was no sure or honest way for him to win with people. 

“Hmm…” Akira hummed thoughtfully. “Are you good friends with him?” He asks which is an even more troubling question for him to answer.

Akira was supposed to be his enemy, a thing about him that he didn’t mention...he’s actively been trying to work against the Phantom Thieves...but by whatever high being’s sadistic plan, the boy is always insistent on spending time with him. He always made the effort to greet him when the detective stopped by the coffee shop and clearly wanted to talk more so he thought that he might as well indulge him...though the scary part of it was that the more they talked, the more he doubted any real hatred towards him existed. The raven seemed to enjoy his company enough to talk with him almost daily. Some people would’ve given their arm to even get a chance to speak with him for five minutes but he doubted the boy was a simple fan of his ‘Detective Prince’ image...which honestly doesn’t happen often. Nobody has ever stuck around for the melancholy and sometimes even snarky part of him. Goro didn’t lie when he was surprised on how the seemingly simple boy got him to share such a personal part of him so nonchalantly that one day. Overtime, he even let his more sarcastic comments slip through his lips around him which he was sure was gonna bite him in the ass the first time he dared...but he’s only greeted by the pleasantly surprised gleam of his charcoal eyes and small smirk on his lips. Akira seemed to genuinely like him...that much Goro could guess.

“Well...I suppose we get along plenty. I don’t hate being around him and he doesn’t seem to hate being around me.” He answers while shrugging and swaying his shoulders, animatedly. The answer gets an even more curious expression from the cat boy. 

“You suppose..?” He asks and Goro almost stiffens at the unintentionally accusatory questioning but he stops himself so he can answer calmly and say what comes to his head. 

“Well, it’s just...weird for me. Sometimes I wonder…” Composed as he is, his words still betray him by not coming out. The lump in his throat that prevents him from saying anything making a return. Akira tilts his head at him. 

“Wonder what?” He prompts and strangely, Goro’s voice returns.

“Why...why he talks to me of all people.” He admits sheepishly, scratching his chin. He hears nothing from the boy next to him, he only stares. Intently observing Goro which unsettled him a little. Though maybe he just wanted him to elaborate more? Does he want to though? He could lie but he feels like those intense eyes would see it. He really doesn’t want to say it...but if it’ll get him to stop looking at him like that...he inhales deeply before he keeps speaking. 

“...as much as I like being in the spotlight, I don’t...tend to make friends. As even though I hate to admit it...when you dig deep, my personality is not the best...compared to him especially. As I’ve said, as long as he’s given the time and he decides to give the time, it doesn’t take long for him to charm them. He doesn’t even have to try...and I can only try. So why does he talk to me…?” He’s watching his fingernails dig into his apron’s stitching by the time he finishes. Yet nothing from the cat boy after what had to be the most honest confession he’s ever made. He doesn’t dare to lift his head to look as his throat starts to tighten. He starts to think this may have been a mistake. However…

“Maybe he just looks up to you as well.” 

His fingers halted from picking at the string that was coming loose. Did his words really make him seem **that** praising of him? He didn’t want to confirm that implication but maybe that was fair for the cat-boy to make it...no, certainly it’s not fair. Assumptions aren’t ever fair. But he doesn’t dare complain, it was a topic he didn’t want to get into. He did feel the need to know the meaning behind the response still though. “...what do you mean..?” He asks him, staring dubiously between the wall in front of him and the white cloth in his lap. 

“I, myself, doubt you’re bad...Yeah, maybe I haven’t been around long enough to find anything that’d prove me wrong but if your friend comes around to talk to you so often...there must be something great he sees in you. Even if you or possibly anyone else doubt there is, he sees potential in you. Even if you can’t see it yourself now...he sees potential that could show itself to you sooner or later.” 

Goro’s head could’ve snapped with how fast he turned to stare at his companion. The raven’s expression is as calm and carefree as ever. Arms wrapped around his knees as he keeps staring at him, giving a subtle shrug. There wasn’t a hint of uncertainty though...in fact, it held the utmost self-assurance he’s seen in him. It practically was daring Goro to prove him wrong. 

‘ _How can he sit like that...after all of that nonsense coming out of his mouth?!_ ’ Goro thinks, turning to the wall in front of him again to shake his head a little. He doesn’t turn back but he glances back over to Akira. Same expression, same body language. It wasn’t fazed even with all his doubt being directed at the cat boy. Goro lets a big, long sigh, blowing several strands of the hair of his bangs. 

“You’re right...I doubt everything you’ve said.” Goro concludes. A cruel conclusion that made Akira go from shine in his eyes to the deepest frown in a matter of seconds. Goro can’t help but chuckle some at the dejected, ears down look. He doesn’t mock him further though as he adds, “But...I guess I’ll take your word for it...till I can prove it’s anything else that is.” 

Despite the statement of this being a temporary victory, a gentle smile grows on Akira’s mouth at the response and Goro finds his body reacting without his approval once again. His face burns faintly and he feels an uncharacteristically genuine smirk curl up on him. It takes him a moment to find control of himself again. Once he does, he softly clears his throat and turns to his lap again. Out of the corner of his eye, Akira does the same. Faint laugh on his lips and his claws carefully scratching the back of his head. They both made no moves to scoot any farther away though. There’s no exchange of words between them again for a long time as they both seem to relax amongst themselves. A waterfall starting to come down at the entrance as the rain only progressively picks up. The sound of the downpour does nothing to unsettle them though. It only brings more tranquility to Goro while Akira only shuffles for a moment to make sure none of his body is outside before settling again. His reddish eyes slowly close as he listens. His mind is already half-way gone to sleep when he hears a quiet rumbling and the calming noise only seals his trip to dreamland. 

-

Goro is suddenly woken from his slumber when something cold touches his cheek. Cold and...he didn't know how to describe it but unpleasant. In an instant, he jolts up to hit the stranger but only to be immediately hushed by a low, feminine voice. 

"Hold on, no need to attack. " The woman who owned the voice orders. 

Looking up, Goro nearly flails at her again simply out of surprise and fear. A woman with a dark blue bob with bangs hairstyle stood there. Darker and sleep deprived eyes on a pale, fair face. Under the intense stare though is two large fangs...on her straight line of a mouth was spider fangs. Down from there, there was no soft skin but some kind of black, rigid, wax-like layer. It covered her arms too. Small prickly, stiff tendrils that went from under her wrist and down. Her hands were not white hands but pure black claws. She seemed to dress normally at first, wearing a black leather jacket with several necklaces decorating her chest but one look down immediately changes that. There was a large dark blue dress (etched with a web design) that went over it along with most of her chest but he could tell...it was a spider body. Complete with the long legs and all. They steadily helped her move closer, her eyes on him the entire time. Just watching her move sent creeps up Goro's spine despite the reassurance she tried to give him. Despite her not standing too much taller than them. He handles himself well enough to not run though. 

"W-W-Who…W-Wha..." He tried to address her but his voice only came out jumbled. She seemed unbothered by his stuttering and answered him. 

"Spider...and don’t worry, I have no intention of hurting you. Less you plan on attacking me?” She asks, tone apathetic as all hell which unsettles Goro immediately and makes him rush to shake his head no to her question. She chuckles softly at this, seeming to be amused by his fearful reaction. Strangely not malicious...but mischievous. 

“I was only pulling your limb but that’s good to know.” She states before she turns serious again. 

“Now, I'm sorry to intrude but I just wanted to wake you up and warn you away from here...packs of shrew often come here to rest and they're not fond of intruders." She explains, motioning to what looked like nesting and some left over rodent bones to drive her point forward. He slowly nods as she looks back to him. 

"Can't imagine that would end well for you and your boy toy there." 

' _Boy toy…?_ '

He blinks at that for a moment when he notices his shoulder was especially warm. Also he felt and heard what seemed to be...purring? Turning around, he finds Akira with his cheek smothered into his arm. His right ear twitching slightly as he slept peacefully. His cheeks flared up immediately due to the rather...embarrassing implications behind what Akira was doing. 

"A-Ah!" Panicked, he shoves the cat boy off him but he makes sure the poor boy doesn't land in the dirt and simply lays against the rock walls. 

"I-It's not…!" He struggles to explain himself, flustered by unintentionally getting close to the boy in front of this total stranger. To make it worse, the gentleness still woke poor Akira up as the raven let out soft whines. Upset to have his nap interrupted. He didn't seem awake enough to really know what was happening though. The arachnid seems unfazed as well by this, only her brows bouncing up.

"Oh, apologies...it's no real matter to me what he is anyway though. I want to keep you both out of danger regardless." She simply says which reassures him somewhat but that's when he hears a soft gasp. He could feel the gaze of his companion settle on the eight-legged woman and turning to peek, he was wide eyed. The almost black eyes (due to his pupils dilating again) barely even blink before glancing to Goro, black ears folding backwards. 

"Goro."

"Yes, Akira...I know it's a spider." 

"...she's right there-"

"I know...but she didn't mean any harm...she just wanted us to move away so we don't get attacked...it seems we came across a nest for shrews." Goro explains and after giving the place a look around, Akira seems to see it. His ears still flat as he grimaces at the bones. Not to mention, now that he thought about it, she probably would've attacked them before they even woke up if she really aimed to harm them. Reason enough for Goro to not feel too wary of her.

"You two aren't from around here, are you?" The spider woman asks as she crawls to face them properly. Goro shook his head, now looking up to her without having to glance down to the ground. 

"Figured...you are both strangers to my eyes. Just how did you get here?" She asks and he bites his bottom lip before he thinks to ask what has been on his mind earlier. 

"That...is a long story I don't want to share right now...but do you..think you could help us?" Her eyebrows raise and she crosses her arms at this, urging him to go on with his request. Good, she didn't seem to mind helping them out. He had expected her to be more insistent on giving her more information but he found it a relief that she didn't press on it too much."There is a man we're looking for that might be of help in getting us out of this mess...he supposedly goes by the name Caterpillar? Possibly runs a brewery or something of that matter? Does that sound familiar?" 

She taps her chin in thought for a moment then nods. "You know...that is actually a very familiar name around here...and he happens to often serve drinks at his little shop...I'm a regular so I know how to get there by pure memory. It should be a fast trip, however only if you'd let me oblige you two and lead you there." 

"That'd be appreciated, thank you." He says and without another word, he starts to follow her out of the other side of the rock caves. Puffy-furred Akira followed hesitantly from behind the brunette. 

' _Wonder how long this trip will take…_ ' Goro can't help but think. They've had the worst luck when it came to distance. Long distance so far. While he wasn't too superstitious...Goro dreaded this could be a pattern he and Akira would have to thread through many more times. However, he's relieved when they come up to a patch of leaves, revealing a passage when the spider-woman lifts it up by her left front leg then the left back as she walks inside. 

"Watch your heads and hold it up as you move in so it doesn't collapse on either of you." She warns, just barely giving Goro the chance to grab it himself before it nearly dropped it on his head. For a small pile of leaves...it was heavy. Not wanting to do the same to Akira, he nods his head to the hole. Urging the cat boy to move forward first, which he does with a grateful smile. He follows after and after some careful maneuvers, he is amazed by what he finds. Houses of all kinds. Some were made of clothing. Top hats being popular while the shoes were less favored Others were made by wooden boxes that each had some overgrowth on top. It was easy to tell which ones were older as some had more moss or fungus. Few houses were made of the plants around the village as some trees or fallen branches held holes. He swears he could even see a few mushrooms being topped with small, rugged canopies for bugs to relax under. Each house was placed in rows on the left and right. Several turns here and there. It was quite tucked in very closely to each other...and looking even closer, he found it eerily similar to the streets of Yongen-Jaya when it came to the setup. 

“If my memory hasn’t failed me, it should be…one...two...three...” Spider mumbles, her pointed finger moving up and down as she seems to count the many homes. She mutters, although her voice was inaudibly quiet, he guesses numbers before seeming to settle on one. 

“Right there.” In the direction of her finger was a jaggy built log with a colorful glass door and a sign that was carved ,with what looked like a cup into it, fastened at the front of it. Which also looked familiar...but he doesn’t have time to figure out why before Spider to the front door. She uses her claw hand to open it and walks in, both boys following suit. Sure enough, he started to see that the streets were not the only thing that matched the place where he visited a certain raven’s temporary residence. Inside the somewhat rustic themed place, on the left there were oblong rocks for tables and roughly sewn bean chairs for seats. On the right were shelves nailed into the wall, holding multiple bottles of various colored liquids, anything but vertical or symmetrical. Some were even chipped somewhat, likely from mistakes in installing it. Whoever did this job clearly was just satisfied as long as it didn’t risk splinters or let the products sitting on it fall. The only difference from the usual was that there was no water tap at the bar. The huge chunk of wood that worked for the bar that stood between the jars and more bean shaped chairs meant to work as barstools. 

“Evening, Caterpillar.” Spider says with a polite nod and Goro looks to where her greeting was directed, having a good idea of what to expect...and he was correct. 

Another clone copy stood at the far end of the long bar, this time sharing the same appearance as the boss at Leblanc. However his skin was a very pale jade and his pitch black hair had sage colored streaks where his grey strands usually would be. The seafoam, collared shirt he wore was complemented by the dark, midnight green blazer that was rolled up at the sleeves. Looking closely, the golden buttons threaded into it had a very strong resemblance to the bright spots that could be found on some caterpillars. Downwards, there were long pants of the same midnight with some shoes peeking out underneath it. Nothing too big until he finally noticed the two extra pairs of arms with rolled up sleeves, the middle pair hiding it's hands behind his back while the lowest pair put its hands on his hips. His body seems to freeze when he spots him and Akira, his pen still on the pages of the pad he was writing in. Then slowly, the top pair sets the pad down and slides off his chair to stand (almost as smoothly as a caterpillar would) before addressing them with a suspecting look in his eyes. 

"...who are you two?" He asks in a low tone. 

"...Goro, sir." Goro introduces himself politely to the odd man. He was not used to seeing mean looks like that being targeted at him from the boss he knew. Often, it's when a certain raven was trying to smart talk with him that he sees him make that kind of look. But only in a kind nature without any bite at all and Akira will stop when asked, Goro was sure of one-hundred percent but the coffee shop owner didn't tolerate being messed with nonetheless. Didn't seem like the Akira next to him would try the same at the moment though. The cat boy was stiff the minute he heard the strict voice, ears almost falling flat. Didn’t help that the man gave him a rather cold gaze...but he kept a strong voice as he introduced himself as well. 

"Akira, for the time being, sir." He says, scratching the back of his ear. 

"For the time being…?" The tall man asks, giving him an incredulous stare. 

"My..my name was taken from me, sir. I can't remember it." Akira explains sheepishly which only makes the man look more dumbfounded before he seems to give up on asking Akira anything and turning to the spider. 

"What did you bring these kids here for?" He asks her, trying to keep his sharp tone from slipping but the spider is unfazed by the angry multi-armed man. Simply standing with her crossed claws. 

"These two have seemed to have some business with you but they were lost...so I brought them here, Caterpillar. I felt it would eat at me later if I just left them to wander on their own...hope I didn't inconvenience you." The spider states and the man who is now confirmed to be Caterpillar considers this before sighing.

“No...it's fine....If anything, I apologize if it gave you any trouble at all...Would you like me to get you anything or...?” He starts to offer but she only shrugs his offer off, waving a claw at him. 

“No, thank you, I have work to get to anyways...but maybe if I’m feeling up to it, I’ll come by later.” She simply says and Caterpillar nods.

“I’ll make sure to remember that...till then.” He says with a farewell salute and she nods goodbye back. Akira, who had done his best to avoid the arachnid up till now, gives a wave goodbye to her. While Goro himself gives her a swift thanks for the help. She only nods back as she’s walking out. She is careful as she maneuvers her body out of it as she was when she came in and closes the door behind her with one of her back legs with a soft slam.

“Now…” Caterpillar mumbles, sitting himself down with his top arms still crossed and glaring up at the boys. “Why are you here?” 

Goro glances to Akira, biting his lip. The cat boy only stares back for a moment before he speaks. 

"You see, sir….we're...we're not quite used to this height-"

"Clearly." The Caterpillar tisked which caught both boys off a bit and he rolled his eyes as he continued to explain, "You don't look anything like any bug I've seen around here, of course, I would know that you don't belong down here. You're lucky that you ran into our town's Spider. Several other bugs wouldn't have been so kind...especially to the likes of you." 

His eyes land on Akira once more as he says this. Which confuses and stuns the poor cat boy. "W-Why do you say that?" Akira asks. The man doesn’t answer right away, reaching to grab some golden, thin pipe out of his coat pocket and lights it. He takes an inhale after and puffs out pink smoke. To which Akira lets out a harsh hack and several wheezy coughs and honestly Goro couldn't blame him though. The smoke still had a strong, funky odor despite the fact it didn't smell like it was made of tobacco or whatever else Goro knows people could breathe into their lungs. 

"...You're a cat, aren't you?" Caterpillar simply asks despite him sounding like he didn’t want to reply to the raven at all. Akira, still wheezing somewhat as he nods, visibly confused by this question. The man clicks his tongue. "You're known to be big hunters. You're keen to seek out your food. We're not usually on your menu...but you and your jaws cause us, bugs, a lot of trouble…" He almost barks. Akira stares in wide-eyed horror and disbelief. It was fairly new information to Goro too. He honestly had no knowledge whatsoever of what cats hunted except the few times he caught the tuxedo cat (who roamed in the after hours of Leblanc) eyeing up the table when any fish was being prepared or served. 

"Don't believe me? There's a family of lady-bugs not too far from here...they went on vacation for the cold season and returned sooner than they were supposed to with half their members gone...when some neighbors asked, they said some calico chomped them all up." 

With every word the Caterpillar spoke, Akira's expression turned progressively more and more disturbed by this information. The man simply sighs before turning back to Goro. 

"Anyway, the point is, you both are usually taller than this…" 

Goro nods. "...and you are the brewer...of the liquid that shrunk us, right?" 

Caterpillar takes another drag and puffs out (Akira prepared to hold his nose this time) before answering, "...I can say I've taken part in making it...if I may ask though, how did you come about finding it?...I've stopped brewing it along with the growth tarts for quite awhile now so there's no way it should still be around." 

At this statement, Goro feels a lump in his throat because...exactly how is he supposed to explain what happened in the house in the woods without it sounding like they had anything to do with it? They didn't do anything when it came to...well...the house going 'vacant' but they DID go in there without permission of any kind. That alone was very incriminating...maybe, he should just leave part out all together? Yeah, that sounded like a plan. He could give being vague a shot. Best choice he has at this point.

"The...this bottle along with some treats were abandoned...I was hungry and ate some...of course, I panicked but Akira here thought for me to drink from the bottle...which worked but...I shrunk more than I needed, as you can see…" Goro states, lifting up the sides of his dress skirt before flopping it back down. "Then the fuzz-headed idiot shrunk himself so we'd be able to keep up with each other and…" He finishes with a shrug.

"So...if you can...we were hoping you'd be able to help?" Akira asks politely. 

“Mhm…” Caterpillar hummed thoughtfully as he taps his pipe on an ashtray, the grey, flaming flakes falling and extinguishing inside it. “And what benefits do I or anyone here get from a cat running about?” 

“But I don’t-” Akira starts but he’s cut off by all three hands on the Caterpillar pointing at him as the very man argues. 

“You won’t till you do.” 

“But-” Immediately he’s hushed, the three hands making a zipper motion. Akira’s ears droop down as he bit his lip, helplessly. The Caterpillar wasn’t gonna listen to a word he says. If something wasn’t said quick...

“...Sir-” The older man turns to Goro again, arms crossed. An intimidating stance but he forces himself to speak. “I understand how you feel..but even if you help me, I need him with me.”

The Caterpillar raises an eyebrow at this and Goro keeps talking, his words slowly turning into a rant. 

“He’s been trying to help me get home for awhile now because I barely know my way around here and even if he’s never quite sure where he is himself, he’s a good guide. He’s helped me get places so I can’t lose him now. I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything to any bugs along the way, it’s not a problem, I just need to get home...so I’d really really appreciate it if you’d help both of us.” 

He expects to get a scolding similar to one of the real boss from the taller bug but he only sighs with heavy resignation before speaking, reasonably. 

“How bout’ this, I’ve been short handed so…” He points to Akira again. “If he can give me a hand around here for awhile at least, I’ll write you up the recipe that’ll get you both back on track. I’ll even lend my kitchen to you to make it. Fair trade, right?” He proposes. Goro turns to Akira who nods insistently at him then at the Caterpillar. It’d be stupid to refuse the offer and both of them knew it. The multi-armed man knew it too. 

“It’s a deal.” Goro agrees and the man nods, reaching an arm from the top row out and Goro gives it a firm shake. “Thank you.” 

“Don’t thank me, just keep him in line. I’m doing this only for your sake young man but if he causes any trouble, or even you for that matter, both of you are out of here. Is that clear?” He asks, bringing his hand away and resting it on his hip sternly. Both boys nod immediately. Even he held a strong, authoritative aura. Couldn’t expect less from a clone of the boss of Leblanc. 

“Understood.” They say in unison which calms the man, who gave a satisfied nod. 

“Good.” The bug scratches his chin beard before he keeps talking, stepping towards the front door and yanking a key out of his pants’ pockets. “Now, it’ll take me a bit before I can get the right formula down so you two can stick around here if you wish..assuming you have nowhere else to go. I’ll be heading home for today so if you want to try to find somewhere else you have to decide now.” 

Goro immediately shakes his head. He was not gonna risk getting caught in the rain again.“Here’s just fine, sir. Thank you.” 

“Alright...don’t mess with anything, I’ll know if you do and you know what will happen.” He warns them before walking out the door as he closes it and the lock resounds through the room. The brunette sighs in relief, walking over to one of the cushion chairs and laying in it. Sinking only somewhat into the soft bunch of rags. Even after napping in the rocks, he was still extremely tired. Seeming to have the same idea, Akira follows suit and starts curling up comfortably in the seat next to him. 

“...You know, you are making it harder and harder for me to see you as a bad person, Goro. How do you think you can prove me wrong at the rate?” He hears the cat boy comment, the smug grin evident in his voice even when Goro was distracted with shuffling to get comfortable in his cushion chair. 

“...I am only keeping you around as a compass.” He replies back in mumble, finally setting to lay facing the left. Harsh words but he finds himself having no malice behind them. Only meant to be teasing banter which he’s sure his companion thinks as such too because he hears snickering from behind him. Goro grins and shakes his head before closing his eyes. There’s shuffling from behind him for a while before it eventually stops. Although he was comfortably situated, Goro found himself shaking through a good five minutes or so and had major trouble sleeping. Considering where the establishment was, it wasn’t too surprising that the place didn’t have ventilation. 

"....Are you cold?" Akira asks him out of the blue. He was but he didn't want to bother the poor cat boy. Besides, what was he gonna do? There weren't any spare blankets left for them. 

"No…" Goro replies, despite him rubbing the goosebumps on the exposed arm, free for the night air's chill to blow on it. Contradictory indeed. 

"...you're cold." The raven states the obvious. Goro huffs at this as he hears the weight from the cushion behind him be lifted. Curious, he turns to look over his shoulder at his sleepover partner. Stepping gently onto the wood floor, Akira sneaks over next to him. His long coat in hand and all the rain soaking it finally dried off. 

"What are you doing?" He asks as the cat boy stands behind him now. 

"Giving you my jacket-" He starts but Goro cuts him off. 

"I know but...aren't you gonna get cold then?" He asks warily. Akira hummed in thought for a moment then answered. 

"Maybe...but I have long sleeves underneath too so it won't be as bad. You, however…" Claws gently tap on the band of the puff sleeves and Goro lazily swats the assaulting finger away. 

"I get it, I get it!" He says hurriedly, feeling a bit flushed at the slight contact of the raven's sharp nails. Thankfully, he gets the message and keeps his hands away. Not that they hurt or anything but still.

"So...do I have your okay?" Goro considers his companion's offer a moment before he nods. He just had to hope this idiot didn't get a cold because of this. Over his head, he sees Akira give the jacket a quick whip to flatten it out more before gently settling it over the shivering brunette who immediately calms when the warm clothing settles on him. He even swipes at the collar just to pull it over his shoulders. 

"Much better now, huh?" He hears Akira ask. He can hear the grin again but his eyes are already lulling him back to sleep so he doesn't bother to try to think of any clever quips and simply responds with a nod. 

"Glad to hear~" Still grinning, surely, the raven creeps back to lay on his own chair again and breathes out through his nose. Probably to relax and close his own eyes. 

“Goodnight, Goro.” He bids him with a yawn. 

“...Goodnight, Akira.” Goro calls back softly, curling up with the pleasantly warm coat and drifting to sleep with ease. 


End file.
